Hydrodynamics Mediates Biogeochemical Dynamics of Particulate Organic Matter in the Shelf of the Northern South China Sea During Summer

Abstract

Environmental conditions, physiology and community composition of phytoplankton and the carbon and nitrogen isotope signature (δ¹³C_POC and δ¹⁵N_PN) of particulate organic matter (POM) often covary across marine environments. However, little was known on the link of δ¹³C_POC and δ¹⁵N_PN and the community and biochemical composition of phytoplankton. In this study, particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PN), δ¹³C_POC, δ¹⁵N_PN, phytoplankton community composition and biomass were determined during summer, along with environmental variables, in the shelf of the northern South China Sea influenced by the Pearl River plume, upwelling and anticyclonic eddy. Our results show that variability in δ¹³C_POC and δ¹⁵N_PN along an environmental gradient is coupled with shifts in phytoplankton community composition and carbon to chlorophyll a (C:Chl a) ratio of phytoplankton. Low δ¹³C_POC values (−28.4 to −27.0‰) at nearshore stations (salinity <21) were primarily due to terrestrial POM input. High δ¹³C_POC (>−21.0‰) and δ¹⁵N_PN (>5.6‰) values are most likely attributed to high abundance of diatoms induced by riverine nutrients in the plume-impacted waters with intermediate salinity (21< salinity <33). Low δ¹³C_POC (<−22.0‰) and δ¹⁵N_PN (−1.1–3.7‰) values are associated with high abundance of slow-growing cyanobacteria in the oligotrophic area (salinity >33), where the lowest δ¹⁵N_PN is most likely attributed to high abundance of N₂-fixing Trichodesmium spp., due to the influence of the anticyclonic eddy. Therefore, hydrodynamics modulates the biochemical composition and community composition of phytoplankton, leading to changes in δ¹³C_POC and δ¹⁵N_PN. Our findings advance our understanding of the coupling of physical and biogeochemical processes in marginal seas.