Long-term trends of heat waves and ecosystem responses in Jiaozhou Bay, the Yellow Sea

With global warming, extreme weather frequently occurs, yet the consequences remain unexplored. A total of 156 heat waves and their characteristics were detected on the basis of a temperature dataset from 1954 to 2022 in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB). The increment is 0.62 times decade⁻¹ for the number of heat waves, 6.65 days decade⁻¹ for the sum of participating heat wave days and 0.66 days for the duration of each heat wave. The intensity of heat waves showed regular fluctuations with progressively shorter periods. Based on the dataset of 12 stations in JZB from 2003 to 2022, the zooplankton abundance was significantly greater during heat waves, which was strongly attributed to the greater abundance of copepods and gelatinous zooplankton during heat waves. However, the responses of plankton to heat waves were seasonally heterogeneous. Our study provides new insight into and a scientific basis for understanding the effects of heat waves on offshore plankton ecosystems.