Phytoplankton biomarkers were analyzedusing suspended particles collected from the northernSouth China Sea (SCS) during the summer cruise of2008, with the goal of understanding the algal communitystructure and biomass distribution pattern in the summerseason. The results indicated that the distribution of algalbiomarkers in surface water of SCS was impacted andconstrained by the local hydrological settings: the highbiological community generally appeared in Pearl Riverestuaries, southwestern off Taiwan island and southeast-em off Hainan Island, while the relatively lower biomasswas found in the deep basin and strait areas. Diatomswere the dominant phytoplankton species, which werefollowed by dinoflagellates. Coccolithophorid biomassgradually increased toward the open ocean. The presentwork indicated that the algal biomarkers effectively doc-umented the variability of the phytoplankton biomass andcommunity structure as well as their linkage with theoceanic dynamics in SCS during summer 2008. Thisresearch provided not only the foundation for the appli-cation of algal lipids in the modem ocean ecosystem, butalso the basis for the reconstruction of the past oceanicalgal community structures.
Phytoplankton biomarkers were analyzedusing suspended particles collected from the northernSouth China Sea (SCS) during the summer cruise of2008, with the goal of understanding the algal communitystructure and biomass distribution pattern in the summerseason. The results indicated that the distribution of algalbiomarkers in surface water of SCS was impacted andconstrained by the local hydrological settings: the highbiological community generally appeared in Pearl Riverestuaries, southwestern off Taiwan island and southeast-em off Hainan Island, while the relatively lower biomasswas found in the deep basin and strait areas. Diatomswere the dominant phytoplankton species, which werefollowed by dinoflagellates. Coccolithophorid biomassgradually increased toward the open ocean. The presentwork indicated that the algal biomarkers effectively doc-umented the variability of the phytoplankton biomass andcommunity structure as well as their linkage with theoceanic dynamics in SCS during summer 2008. Thisresearch provided not only the foundation for the appli-cation of algal lipids in the modem ocean ecosystem, butalso the basis for the reconstruction of the past oceanicalgal community structures.