Validation of a method of estimating age, modelling growth, and describing the age composition of Coilia mystus from the Yangtze Estuary, China

A collection of 577 Coilia mystus was made during April 2006 and 2007 from China's Yangtze Estuary to estimate the age structure and growth patterns of the population. Examination of sectioned sagittal otoliths revealed a periodic straight/curved growth pattern. The straight zone was from April to November, and the curved zone from October to May, indicating annual periodicity. Annual periodicity was also verified by margin zone analysis. The shift from a curved-zone to the next straight-zone stanza was defined as an annulus. The fish from which the otoliths were taken were 0-5 years old. The von Bertalanffy growth function was fitted to standard length (LS)-at-age data as L-S = 215.16 (1 - e(-0.53(t+0.30))) (n = 577, r(2) = 0.81, p < 0.05). The mature females included five age classes, ages 1 and 2 accounting for 74.3% of the population. The mature males included fish aged 1 and 2, those at age 1 accounting for 86.4% of the population. Mean length was smaller, and annual growth less, for mature males than for females of comparable age. The study demonstrated that the Yangtze population of C. mystus consists of more age classes than previously thought and that the age structure of the population needs to be considered in management decisions.

Physical modeling of localized scour for the Yangtze Estuary Waterway Improvement Project, Phase I

In order to examine the effectiveness of engineering protection against localized scour in front of the south groin-group of the Yangtze Estuary Waterway Improvement Project, Phase I, an undistorted physical model on a geometric scale of 1:250 is built in this study, covering two groins and their adacent estuarine areas. By use of rinsing fix-bed model as well as localized mobile-bed model the experiment is undertaken under bi-directional steady flow. According to the experimental results, waterway dredging leads to the increase in steram velocity, the increase being larger during the ebb than during the flood. Construction of the upstream groin has some influence on the flow patterns near the downstream groin. Localized scour in front of the groin-heads is controlled mainly by ebb flow. In the case of a riverbed composed entirely of silt, the depths of localized scour in front of the two groin-heads are 27 m and 29 m, respectively. In reality, the underneath sediment of the prototype riverbed is clay whose threshold velocity is much higher than the stream velocity in the Yangtze Estuary; therefore, the depths of localized scour will not be much larger than the thickness of the silt layer, i. e. 7.4 m and 4.7 m, respectively. The designed aprons covering the riverbed in fron of the groin-heads are very effective in scour control. Aprons of slightly smaller size can also fulfill the task of protection, but the area of localized scour increases significantly.

SUSPENDED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN THE OFFSHORE NEAR YANGTZE ESTUARY

Based on the Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Modeling System with Sediments (ECOMSED) model, a 3-D hydrodynamic-transport numerical model was established for the offshore area near the Yangtze Estuary in the East China Sea. The hydrodynamic module was driven by tide and wind. Sediment module included sediment resuspension, transport and deposition of cohesive and non-cohesive sediment. The settling of cohesive sediment in the water column was modeled as a function of aggregation (flocculation) and deposition. The numerical results were compared with observation data for August, 2006. It shows that the sediment concentration reduces gradually from the seashore to the offshore area. Numerical results of concentration time series in the observation stations show two peaks and two valleys, according with the observation data. It is mainly affected by tidal current. The suspended sediment concentration is related to the tidal current during a tidal cycle, and the maximum concentration appears 1 h-4 h after the current maximum velocity has reached.

Numerical simulation on the process of saltwater intrusion and its impact on the suspended sediment concentration in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary

To study the relationship between sediment transportation and saltwater intrusion in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary, a three-dimensional numerical model for temperature, salinity, velocity field, and suspended sediment concentration was established based on the ECOMSED model. Using this model, sediment transportation in the flood season of 2005 was simulated for the Changjiang estuary. A comparison between simulated results and observation data for the tidal level, flow velocity and direction, salinity and suspended sediment concentration indicated that they were consistent in overall. Based on model verification, the simulation of saltwater intrusion and its effect on sediment in the Changjiang estuary was analyzed in detail. The saltwater intrusion in the estuary including the formation, evolution, and disappearance of saltwater wedge and the induced vertical circulation were reproduced, and the crucial impact of the wedge on cohesive and non-cohesive suspended sediment distribution and transportation were successfully simulated. The result shows that near the salinity front, the simulated concentrations of both cohesive and non-cohesive suspended sediment at the surface layer had a strong relationship with the simulated velocity, especially when considering a 1-hour lag. However, in the bottom layer, there was no obvious correlation between them, because the saltwater wedge and its inducing vertical circulation may have resuspended loose sediment on the bed, thus forming a high-concentration area near the bottom even if the velocity near the bottom was very low during the transition phase from flood to ebb.

NOR5/OM60 clade of the Yangtze River estuary

The phylogeny, abundance, and biogeography of the NOR5/OM60 clade was investigated. This clade includes "Congregibacter litoralis" strain KT71, the first cultured representative of marine aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic Gammaproteobacteria. Most of the NOR5/OM60 sequences were retrieved from marine coastal settings, whereas there were fewer from open-ocean surface waters, deep-sea sediment, freshwater, saline lakes and soil. The abundance of members of the NOR5/OM60 clade in various marine sites was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization using a newly designed and optimized probe set. Relative abundances in coastal marine waters off the Yangtze estuary were up to 3% of the total 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) counts. A small cruise was undertaken from 2006-09-06 to 2006-09-08 in the Yangtze River estuary. Samples were taken from surface water, and immediately fixed with 1% paraformaldehyde (PFA) for 1 h, filtered onto polycarbonate filters (Millipore, 47 mm in diameter, 0.2 µm pore size) and stored frozen at -20 °C.

Gonad development of an anadromous fish Coilia ectenes (Engraulidae) in lower reach of Yangtze River, China

Anadromous Coilia ectenes was sampled from the Yangtze estuary at Chongming and two of the primary upstream spawning grounds at Jingjiang and Anqing in April, May, June and August 2006. Gonad development was analyzed for females. In April, fish were collected in the estuary and at Jingjiang, but not at Anqing. No female was mature (gonad at stages IV or V) at either location. In May, 45% of the females were mature in the estuary, 9% at Jingjiang and 5% at Anqing. In June, 86% were mature in the estuary, 83% at Jingjiang and 7% at Anqing. In August, C. ectenes was absent at Jingjiang. No female was mature in the estuary, and all females were mature at Anqing. Absolute fecundity (AF) increased significantly with standard length (SL) by a power function AF = 2.27 x 10(-6) x SL2.67 (r(2) = 0.57, n = 48, P < 0.05). Mature females in the estuary were smaller than those at Jingjiang and Anqing. Conservation of spawners in the upstream spawning grounds is important because they have a size-related fecundity advantage over the smaller spawners in the estuary.

Flux and fate of Yangtze river sediment delivered to the East China Sea

Numerous cores and dating show the Yangtze River has accumulated about 1.16 x 10(12) t sediment in its delta plain and proximal subaqueous delta during Holocene. High-resolution seismic profiling and coring in the southern East China Sea during 2003 and 2004 cruises has revealed an elongated (similar to 800 km) distal subaqueous mud wedge extending from the Yangtze River mouth southward off the Zhejiang and Fujian coasts into the Taiwan Strait. Overlying what appears to be a transgressive sand layer, this distal clinoform thins offshore, from similar to 40 in thickness between the 20 and 30 m water depth to < 1-2 in between 60 and 90 m water depth, corresponding to an across shelf distance of less than 100 km. Total volume of this distal mud wedge is about 4.5 x 10(11) m(3), equivalent to similar to 5.4 x 10(11) t of sediment. Most of the sediment in this mud wedge comes from the Yangtze River, with some input presumably coming from local smaller rivers. Thus, the total Yangtze-derived sediments accumulated in its deltaic system and East China Sea inner shelf have amounted to about 1.7 x 10(12) t. Preliminary analyses suggest this longshore and across-shelf transported clinoform mainly formed in the past 7000 yrs after postglacial sea level reached its mid-Holocene highstand, and after re-intensification of the Chinese longshore current system. Sedimentation accumulation apparently increased around 2000 yrs BP, reflecting the evolution of the Yangtze estuary and increased land erosion due to human activities, such as fanning and deforestation. The southward-flowing China Coastal Current, the northward-flowing Taiwan Warm Current, and the Kuroshio Current appear to have played critical roles in transporting and trapping most of Yangtze-derived materials in the inner shelf, and hence preventing the sediment escape into the deep ocean. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transfer and transport of phosphorus and silica in the turbidity maximum zone of the Changjiang estuary

The concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM), sedimentation flux, and various forms of phosphorus and silica in turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary was studied. Based on the budget of P and Si, their mass balances in the TMZ were calculated. Results show that the variation in concentration of dissolved inorganic silicon (DISi) was mainly controlled by seawater dilution, while that of dissolved inorganic phosphor-us (DIP) was considerably affected by the buffering of suspended matter and sediment. Our experiments showed that the sedimentation fluxes of SPM and particulate inorganic phosphorus (PIP), total particulate phosphorus (TPP), particulate inorganic silicon (PISi), and biological silicon (BSi) in the TMZ were 238.4 g m(-2) d(-1) and 28.3, 43.1, 79.0, 63.0 mg m(-2) d(-1), respectively. In addition, a simple method to estimate the ratio of resuspension of sediment in the TMZ was established, with which the rate in surface and bottom waters of the TMZ accounted for 55.7 and 66.1% of the total SPM, respectively, indicating that the sediment resuspension in the TMZ influenced significantly the mass balances of P and Si. Particulate adsorbed P (60.8%) and 35.5% of total particulate P discharged from the river were filtered and then deposited in the TMZ. The input flux of PIP from the river mouth was 55.9% of that of DIP, being important as biologically available P, while that of PISi was only 3.5% of DISi, showing that particulate adsorbed Si was much less important than particulate adsorbed P. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

长江口及其邻近海域鱼类浮游生物群落结构特征研究

本文根据1999年－2007年间7个航次的长江口及其邻近海域的鱼类浮游生物和环境因子的调查资料，探讨了三峡工程蓄水前后长江口鱼类浮游生物群落特征，主要包括长江口鱼类浮游生物的种类组成、数量变动、群落多样性、空间分布格局等，分析了三峡工程蓄水前后长江口鱼类浮游生物群落结构的动态变化，为评价三峡工程对河口生态环境及鱼类补充资源的影响提供科学依据，研究结果如下： 1．三峡工程蓄水前春季（1999年5月和2001年5月）共捕获11540个鱼类浮游生物隶属11目18科32种，其中凤鲚(Coilia mystus)、鳀(Engraulis japonicus)、六丝矛尾鰕虎鱼(Chaeturichthys hexanema)、白氏银汉鱼(Allanetta bleekeri)、松江鲈(Trachidermis fasciatus)为优势种；鱼类浮游生物群落可划分为三个类群：①以凤鲚为优势种的河口群组，②以松江鲈和白氏银汉鱼为优势种的沿岸群组，③以鳀和六丝矛尾鰕虎鱼为优势种的近海群组；盐度、深度、溶解氧和悬浮体是影响这一海域鱼类浮游生物分布的主要环境因子。 2．三峡工程蓄水后春季长江口的环境因子总体分布格局没有改变，部分环境因子表现出数量上的差异：溶解氧含量偏低，COD平均值下降，pH值显著上升，盐度升高，河道水域和口门附近悬浮体下降，长江口鱼类生物群聚栖息环境发生了变化。三峡工程蓄水后春季（2004年5月和2007年5月）共采获的25种鱼类浮游生物，总丰度(1 070个)仅为蓄水前(11 540)的10%，4种优势种白氏银汉鱼、凤鲚、松江鲈和鳀贡献了总丰度的94.57％；蓄水后影响长江口鱼类浮游生物格局的主要环境因子是盐度和悬浮体，蓄水后长江口鱼类浮游生物群聚类型(河口型、沿岸型和近海型)与蓄水前一致，但沿岸型空间分布区域明显减少，近海型分布区域向河口方向扩展。长江口环境因子中，盐度和悬浮体是蓄水前后鱼类浮游生物群聚变异的主要影响因素。 3．三峡工程蓄水前后春季四次调查共记录鱼类浮游生物39种，生态类型包括淡水、半咸水、沿岸和近海。春季长江口鱼类浮游生物优势种包括鯷、凤鲚、白氏银汉鱼、松江鲈和六丝矛尾鰕虎鱼，2004年和2007年鯷、凤鲚优势地位有所下降。长江口鱼类浮游生物群落结构年度间差异显著，以2004年长江口鱼类浮游生物群落结构与1999和2001年相异性最高，鯷和凤鲚种群数量变动对其群落变异的贡献率最大，群落相似性以2004和2007年最高，达71.17%。与蓄水前相比，三峡水库蓄水后的长江口鱼类浮游生物群落多样性显著下降。1999—2007年间，长江口发生了一系列环境环境条件变化，直接或间接的环境干扰带来了长江口鱼类生物群落结构变异。 4．2007年四个航次（春、夏、秋、冬）共捕获鱼类浮游生物6,463个, 隶属12目28科45种, 以鳀科丰度最高, 占总丰度的76.5%。长江口鱼类浮游生物包括4种生态类型: 淡水型(2种), 半咸水型(14种), 沿岸型(10种)和近海型(16种)。其中, 近海型物种个体数量最多, 占2007年长江口鱼类浮游生物总丰度的74.55%。鳀在4个季节均有出现, 对长江口鱼类浮游生物丰度贡献最大。鱼类浮游生物在物种组成上存在明显的季节变化: 白氏银汉鱼在春季占绝对优势, 鳀是夏季优势度最高的种类, 秋季除鳀外, 前颌间银鱼(Hemisalanx prognathus)成为优势种; 鱼类浮游生物丰度高度集中在优势种上, 各季节优势种对总丰度贡献超过89%。群落物种数量、丰度、丰富度指数、均匀度指数和多样性指数, 在夏季最高, 春季和秋季次之, 冬季最低。2007年长江口鱼类浮游生物的群落格局在空间上分为三个不同的群组：河口、沿岸、外海，并且这种分布随长江冲淡水的季节变化而变化。盐度是影响决定长江口鱼类浮游生物群落空间分布的最重要因子，而温度则是影响其季节性结构变化的主要因子。此外，生殖洄游和索饵洄游也是影响鱼类浮游生物群落结构时间变化的重要因子。

长江口邻近海域缺氧区营养盐及痕量金属的生物地球化学过程研究

长江口邻近海域夏季底层水体存在世界上面积最大的缺氧带。这为研究河口区氧化还原敏感元素的生物地球化学过程提供了天然的实验场所。为了理解长江河口缺氧带存在的生物地球化学过程，本文以长江口邻近海域缺氧带上覆水体、沉积物及间隙水为研究对象，并对其营养盐及重金属进行研究，目的在于揭示长江口邻近海域缺氧带可能存在的生物地球化学过程，为理解长江河口区的物质循环提供科学证据。通过研究得出如下结论：（1）在水体中盐度是影响营养盐分布的主要因素，在高浊度带存在营养盐释放的现象；（2）底层水存在两种显著不同的生物地球化学过程：当盐度<33 PSU时，营养盐与AOU之间为负相关，影响底层海水营养盐分布的主要因素可能为流场；而当盐度>33 PSU时，营养盐与AOU之间存在正相关，影响营养盐分布的主要因素为颗粒有机质的矿化；（3）溶解态痕量金属存在保守型（Mo、U、Ni）和混合型(Fe、Mn、Cu、Pb、Zn)的分布规律，盐度、浮游生物及溶解氧都是影响溶解态痕量金属分布的重要因素；剔除浊度大于20 NTU的数据，分配系数与浊度为显著正相关；（4）间隙水Fe、Mn剖面表明，长江河口表层沉积物存在剧烈的Fe、Mn还原现象；成岩模型模拟结果显示间隙水Mn的模拟剖面与实际观测剖面吻合较好。间隙水U剖面显示，控制U分布的主要因素与Fe有关，但是其它因素如有机质含量对U、Mo的分布也有影响；（5）间隙水营养盐剖面显示近岸与远岸存在两种不同的生物地球化学过程：远岸海域，间隙水营养盐部面主要受早期成岩的控制；而在近岸海域其它过程如氨化及吸附可能是控制间隙水氮剖面分布的主要因素；模拟剖面与NH4+的实测剖面趋于一致，但是同时暗示表层沉积物受到生物扰动；通量计算结果显示，Si、N、P分别占浮游生物每日所需要营养盐数量的15%、10%及0.1%；（6）对痕量金属的黄铁矿化程度进行了分析，发现长江河口痕量金属的黄铁矿化程度异常低，黄铁矿不是影响痕量金属分布的主要因素；导致低黄铁矿化度的原因与长江河口高沉积速率、贫硫、低有机质有关。

Model analysis of dissolved inorganic phosphorus exports from the Yangtze river to the estuary

In this paper, we estimate the inputs of phosphorus (P) to the Yangtze River Basin and exports of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) from the river to the estuary for the period 1970-2003, by using the global NEWS-DIP model. Modeled DIP yields range from 2.5 kg P km(-2) yr(-1) in 1970 to 4.6 kg P km(-2) yr(-1) in 1985, and then dramatically increase to 14.1 kg P km(-2) yr(-1) in 2003. No significant difference between the modeled and measured values at the level of P = 0.05 is observed. The study also demonstrates variable source contributions of P to the modeled DIP during the period 1970-2003. Point sewage P input accounted for approximately 100% in the period 1970-1985 and substantially decreased to 24.8% in 2003. Chemical fertilizer contributed 25.4% of DIP yields in 1986 and increased continuously to 50.3% in 2003, while a stable trend in manure P contribution averaging 22.9% of DIP yields was shown in the same period. The study concludes that P inputs to the Yangtze River Basin and the river DIP export to the estuary have substantially increased during the study period consequence to human pressure.

Tidally induced upwelling off Yangtze River estuary and in Zhejiang coastal waters in summer

MASNUM wave-tide-circulation coupled numerical model (MASNUM coupled model, hereinafter) is developed based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). Both POM and MASNUM coupled model are applied in the numerical simulation of the upwelling off Yangtze River estuary and in Zhejiang coastal waters in summer. The upwelling mechanisms are analyzed from the viewpoint of tide, and a new mechanism is proposed. The study suggests that the tidally inducing mechanism of the upwelling includes two dynamic aspects: the barotropic and the baroclinic process. On the one hand, the residual currents induced by barotropic tides converge near the seabed, and upwelling is generated to maintain mass conservation. The climbing of the residual currents along the sea bottom slope also contributes to the upwelling. On the other hand, tidal mixing plays a very important role in inducing the upwelling in the baroclinic sea circumstances. Strong tidal mixing leads to conspicuous front in the coastal waters. The considerable horizontal density gradient across the front elicits a secondary circulation clinging to the tidal front, and the upwelling branch appears near the frontal zone. Numerical experiments are designed to determine the importance of tide in inducing the upwelling. The results indicate that tide is a key and dominant inducement of the upwelling. Experiments also show that coupling calculation of the four main tidal constituents(M-2, S-2, K-1, and O-1), rather than dealing with the single M-2 constituent, improves the modeling precision of the barotropic tide-induced upwelling.

Nutrient characteristics in the Yangtze River Estuary and the adjacent East China Sea before and after impoundment of the Three Gorges Dam

From November 2002 to 2006, five cruises were undertaken in the Yangtze River Estuary and the adjacent East China Sea to compare the nutrient concentrations, ratios and potential nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth before and after impoundment (June 2003) of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). Concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and total nitrogen (TN) exhibited an increasing trend from 2002 to 2006. In contrast, total phosphorus (TP) concentration exhibited a decreasing trend. The mean concentrations of DIN, SRP, and TN in the total study area increased from 21.4 mu M, 0.9 mu M, and 41.8 mu M in 2002 to 37.5 mu M, 1.3 mu M. and 82.2 mu M in 2006, respectively. while TP decreased from 2.1 mu M to 1.7 mu M. The concentration of dissolved reactive silica (DRSi) had no major fluctuations and the differences were not significant. The mean concentration of DRSi in the total study area ranged from 52.5 to 92.3 mu M. The Si:N ratio decreased significantly from 2.7 in 2002 to 1.3 in 2006, while TN: TP ratio increased from 22.1 to 80.3. The area of potential P limitation of phytoplankton growth expanded after 2003 and potential Si limitation appeared in 2005 and 2006. Potential P limitation mainly occurred in an area of salinity less than 30 after 2003, while potential Si limitation occurred where the salinity was greater than 30. By comparison with historical data, the concentrations of nitrate and SRP in this upper estuary during November 1980-2006 increased obviously after impoundment of TGD but DRSi decreased. Meanwhile, the ratios of N:P, Si:N and Si:P decreased obviously. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The nitrogen isotopic composition of dissolved nitrate in the Yangtze River (Changjiang) estuary, China

The nitrogen isotopic composition of dissolved nitrate (delta N-15-NO3-) in surface water of the Yangtze River estuary was determined in four seasons of 2006. delta N-15-NO3- ranged from 0.4 parts per thousand to 6.5 parts per thousand and varied with seasons and geographic regions, reflecting the dynamics of nitrogen cycling in the estuarine ecosystem. delta N-15-NO3- was markedly lower in February than in other seasons and exhibited conservative mixing, which was probably attributed to the NO3- being sourced from the atmospheric deposition and agricultural fertilizer. In the upper estuary, the influence of riverine inputs was important during all surveys. in the turbidity maximum zone, nitrification was found with nitrate depleted in N-15 in May, whereas denitrification resulting in heavy delta N-15-NO3- played an important role in August. More enriched delta N-15-NO3- values coinciding with losses of nitrate concentrations based on the conservative mixing model were found in the adjacent marine area in May, and may reflect obvious phytoplankton assimilation of dissolved nitrate. In this manner, delta N-15-NO3- may be a sensitive indicator of nitrogen sources and biogeochemical processing existing in this estuary in conjunction with the variations of dissolved nitrate and other environmental factors. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.