In recent years, Konosirus punctatus has accounted for a large portion in catch composition and become important economic species in the South Yellow Sea. However, the distribution of K. punctatus early life stages is still poorly understood. In this study, generalized additive models with Tweedie distribution were used to analyze the relationships between K. punctatus ichthyoplankton and environmental factors (longitude and latitude, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS) and depth), and predict distribution K. punctatus spawning ground and nursing ground, based on samplings collected in 6 months during 2014–2017. The results showed that K. punctatus’ spawning ground were mainly distributed in central and north study area (from 33.0°N to 37.0°N). By comparison, the nursing ground shifted southward, which were approximately located along central and south coast of study area (from 31.7°N to 35.5°N). The optimal models identified that suitable SST, SSS and depth for eggs were 19–26°C, 25–30 and 9–23 m, respectively. The suitable SSS for larvae were 29–31. The K. punctatus spawning habit might have changed in the past decades, which was a response to increasing SST and fishing pressure. That needs to be proved in further study. The study provides references of conservation and exploitation for K. punctatus.

The population parameters of blood cockles, Tegillarca granosa in the intertidal zone of Marudu Bay, Sabah, Malaysia were investigated based on monthly length-weight frequency data (July 2017 to June 2018). A total of 279 cockle individuals with shell length and weight ranging from 27.7 mm to 82.2 mm and 13.11 g to 192.7 g were subjected to analysis. T. granosa in Marudu Bay showed a consistent moderately high condition index 4.98±0.86 throughout the year. The exponent b of the length-weight relationship was 2.6 demonstrating negative allometric growth. The estimated asymptotic length (L_∞), growth coefficient (K) and growth performance (ϕ) of the T. granosa population in Marudu Bay were estimated at 86.68 mm, 0.98 a^–1 and 3.87, respectively. The observed maximum shell length was 82.55 mm and the predicted maximum shell length was 84.44 mm with estimated maximum life span (t_max) of 3.06 years. The estimated mean lengths at the end of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 months of age were 21.31 mm, 31.16 mm, 39.53 mm, 46.63 mm, 52.67 mm and 57.79 mm. Total, natural, and fishing mortalities were estimated at 2.39 a^–1, 1.32 a^–1 and 1.07 a^–1. The exploitation level (E) was 0.45. Results of the current study also demonstrated that T. granosa in the Marudu Bay has two major recruitment peaks; one in March and another in October. The exploitation level revealed that natural stock of T. granosa in the Marudu Bay was approaching the maximum exploitation level. If such trend continues or demand for T. granosa is increasing, coupled with no effective fisheries management in place, possibility of the T. granosa population in the Marudu Bay to collapse is likely to elevate.

Based on a hydrodynamic-ecological model, the temperature, salinity, current, phytoplankton (Chl a), zooplankton, and nutrient (dissolved inorganic nitrogen, DIN, and dissolved inorganic phosphorous, DIP) distributions in the Beibu Gulf were simulated and the nutrient budget of 2015 was quantitatively analyzed. The simulated results show that interface processes and monsoons significantly influence the ecological processes in the gulf. The concentrations of DIN, DIP, phytoplankton and zooplankton are generally higher in the eastern and northern gulf than that in the western and southern gulf. The key regions affected by ecological processes are the Qiongzhou Strait in winter and autumn and the estuaries along the Guangxi coast and the Red River in summer. In most of the studied domains, biochemical processes contribute more to the nutrient budget than do physical processes, and the DIN and DIP increase over the year. Phytoplankton plays an important role in the nutrient budget; phytoplankton photosynthetic uptake is the nutrient sink, phytoplankton dead cellular release is the largest source of DIN, and phytoplankton respiration is the largest source of DIP. The nutrient flux in the connected sections of the Beibu Gulf and open South China Sea (SCS) inflows from the east and outflows to the south. There are 113 709 t of DIN and 5 277 t of DIP imported from the open SCS to the gulf year-around.

Mangroves can not only provide multiple ecosystem service functions, but are also efficient carbon producers, capturers, and sinks. The estimation of the organic carbon accumulation rate (OCAR) in mangrove sediments is fundamental for elucidating the role of mangroves in the global carbon budget. In particular, understanding the past changes in the OCAR in mangrove sediments is vital for predicting the future role of mangroves in the rapidly changing environment. In this study, three dated sediment cores from interior and fringe of mangroves in the Yingluo Bay, China, were used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal variations of the calculated OCAR since 1900 in this area. The increasing OCAR in the mangrove interior was attributed to mangrove flourishment induced by climate change characterized by the rising temperature. However, in the mangrove fringe, the strengthening hydrodynamic conditions under the sea level rise were responsible for the decreasing OCAR, particularly after the 1940s. Furthermore, the duration of inundation by seawater was the primary factors controlling the spatial variability of the OCAR from the mangrove fringe to interior, while the strengthened hydrodynamic conditions after the 1940s broke this original pattern.

In terms of downward transport, suspended particulate matter (SPM) from marine or terrigenous sources is an essential contributor to the carbon cycle. Within mesoscale environments such as seagrass ecosystems, SPM flux is an essential part of the total carbon budget that is transported within the ecosystem. By assessing the total SPM transport from water column to sediment, potential carbon burial can be estimated. However, SPM may decompose or reforming aggregate during transport, so estimating the vertical flux without knowing the decomposition rate will lead to over- or underestimation of the total carbon budget. Here this paper presents the potential decomposition rate of the SPM in seagrass ecosystems in an attempt to elucidate the carbon dynamics of SPM. SPM was collected from the seagrass ecosystems located at Sikka and Sorong in Indonesia. In situ experiments using SPM traps were conducted to assess the vertical downward flux and decomposition rate of SPM. The isotopic profile of SPM was measured together with organic carbon and total nitrogen content. The results show that SPM was transported to the bottom of the seagrass ecosystem at a rate of up to (129.45±53.79) mg/(m²·h) (according to carbon). Considering the whole period of inundation of seagrass meadows, SPM downward flux reached a maximum of 3 096 mg/(m²·d) (according to carbon). The decomposition rate was estimated at from 5.9 µg/(mg·d) (according to carbon) to 26.6 µg/(mg·d) (according to carbon). Considering the total downward flux of SPM in the study site, the maximum decomposed SPM was estimated 39.9 mg/(m²·d) (according to carbon) and 82.6 mg/(m²·d) (according to carbon) for study site at Sorong and Sikka, respectively. The decomposed SPM can be 0.6%–2.7% of the total SPM flux, indicating that it is a small proportion of the total flux. The seagrass ecosystems of Sorong and Sikka SPM show an autochthonous tendency with the primary composition of marine-end materials.

In order to assess the effect of enhancement release of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), otolith strontium (Sr) marking method was used to tag chum salmon released in Tangwang River in 2016. The homing chum salmon were detected and the samples were collected in Tangwang River, Ussuri River and Suifen River in the autumn of 2018. The samples were analyzed by examining Sr and calcium (Ca) fingerprints in the otolith using electron probe microanalysis. The results suggested that two samples collected in Tangwang River had the marking ring near the core of otolith where the Sr concentration and Sr/Ca ratio were significantly higher than comparative samples. Proving that the two fish belonged to the released population in Tangwang River in 2016. This article indicated the success of the enhancement release of chum salmon from the Tangwang River for the first time and also confirmed the validity of Sr marking in enhancement release of fishes.

Selenium (Se) has been recognized as a key trace element that is associated with growth of primary producers in oceans. During March and May 2018, surface water (67 samples) was collected and measured by HG-ICP-MS to investigate the distribution and behavior of selenite [Se(IV)], selenate [Se(VI)] and dissolved organic selenides (DOSe) concentrations in the Zhujiang River Estuary (ZRE), South China Sea (SCS) and Malacca Straits (MS). It showed that Se(IV) (0.14–3.44 nmol/L) was the dominant chemical species in the ZRE, related to intensive manufacture in the watershed; while the major species shifted to DOSe (0.05–0.79 nmol/L) in the MS, associated with the wide coverage of peatland and intensive agriculture activities in the Malaysian Peninsula. The SCS was identified as the northern and southern sections (NSCS and SSCS) based on the variations of surface circulation. The insignificant variation of Se(IV) in the NSCS and SSCS was obtained in March, potentially resulting from the high chemical activity and related preferential assimilation by phytoplankton communities. Contrastively, the lower DOSe concentrations in the SSCS likely resulted from higher primary production and utilization during March. During May, the concentration of Se(IV) remained low in the NSCS and SSCS, while DOSe concentrations increased notably in the SSCS, likely due to the impact of terrestrial inputs from surface current reversal and subsequent accumulation. On a global scale, DOSe is the dominant Se species in tropical oceans, while Se(IV) and Se(VI) are major fractions in high-latitude oceans, resulting from changes in predominated phytoplankton and related biological assimilation.

Hydrothermal venting has a profound effect on the chemical and biological properties of local and distal seawater and sediments. In this study, lipid biomarkers were analyzed to examine the potential influence of hydrothermal activity on the fate of organic matter (OM) in surface sediments around Tianxiu Hydrothermal Field in the Carlsberg Ridge (CR), Northwest Indian Ocean. By comparing the biomarker distributions of the samples with that of other typical hydrothermal sediments in the mid ocean ridge, it is shown that the location of the samples is not affected by the hydrothermal activity. The relatively low abundances of terrestrial n-alkyl lipids and riverine 1,15-C₃₂ diol suggested a minor contribution of terrigenous OM to the study area. The bacteria contributed predominantly to sedimentary marine OM; however, other marine source organisms, e.g., eukaryotes (i.e., phytoplankton and fungi) could not be completely neglected. The marine-originated biomarkers showed significantly variable distributions between the two sediments, suggesting different dynamic physical and biogeochemical processes controlling the fate of marine OM. This study identified various diagnostic biomarkers (5,5-diethyl alkanes, diols and β-OH FAs), which may have significant environmental implications for future works in this region.

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is an important biogeochemical process, which has important scientific significance for global climate change and atmospheric evolution. This research examined the δ³⁴S, terrigenous clastic indices of TiO₂ and Al₂O₃, and times for formation of the Ba front at site SH1, site SH3 and site 973-4 in the South China Sea. Three different coupling mechanisms of deposition rate and methane flux were discovered. The different coupling mechanisms had different effects on the role of AOM. At site 973-4, a high deposition rate caused a rapid vertical downward migration of the sulphate–methane transition zone (SMTZ), and the higher input resulted in mineral dissolution. At site SH3, the deposition rate and methane flux were basically in balance, so the SMTZ and paleo-SMTZ were the most stable of any site, and these were in a slow process of migration. At site SH1, the methane flux dominated the coupled mode, so the movement of the SMTZ at site SH1 was consistent with the general understanding. Understanding the factors influencing the SMTZ is important for understanding the early diagenesis process.

Feeding activities provide necessary nutrition and energy to support the reproduction and development of fish populations. The feeding ecology and dietary plasticity of fish are important factors determining their recruitment and population dynamics. As a top predator, Japanese Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) supports one of the most valuable fisheries in China. In this study, the feeding ecology and diet composition of Japanese Spanish mackerel spawning groups were analysed based on samples collected from six spawning grounds along the eastern coastal waters of China during spring (March to May) in 2016 and 2017. Both stomach contents and stable isotope analysis were conducted. Stomach content analysis showed that spawning groups of Japanese Spanish mackerel mainly fed on fish, consuming more than 40 different prey species. Diets were significantly different among sampling locations. The most important prey species were Stolephorus in Fuzhou, Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus in Xiangshan, Euphausia pacifica in Lüsi, sand lance Ammodytes personatus in Qingdao and Weihai, and Leptochela gracilis in Laizhou Bay. Stable isotope analysis showed that the trophic level of Japanese Spanish mackerel was relatively high and generally increased with latitude from south to north. In the 1980s, the diet of Japanese Spanish mackerel was dominated solely by Japanese anchovies in the eastern coastal waters of China. The results in the present study showed that the importance of Japanese anchovies declined considerably, and this fish was not the most dominant diet in most of the investigated waters. Both the spatial variations in diet composition and changes in the dominant diet over the long term indicated the high adaptability of Japanese Spanish mackerel to the environment. Combining the results of stomach analysis and stable isotope analysis from different tissues provided more comprehensive and accurate dietary information on Japanese Spanish mackerel. The study provides essential information about the feeding ecology of Japanese Spanish mackerel and will benefit the management of its populations in the future.