In the autumn of 2022, a red tide species Eucampia zodiacus bloomed in the nearshore water of Rushan, northern Yellow Sea, lasting for more than 40 days. This nearshore area is the main aquaculture domains for oyster Crassostrea gigas in China, and the important bait for oysters is phytoplankton. It has been shown that there are large seasonal variations of phytoplankton in this area, but there are fewer studies related to phytoplankton feeding by oysters, especially the effect of red tide outbreaks on their feeding selectivity. By analyzing the phytoplankton in water samples and oyster stomach contents, two complete blooming and recession periods of red tide were identified, with the second one having the longest duration (about 18 days) and the highest abundance (2.23×106 cells/L). At the peak of the red tide, the algae abundance in the stomach contents of oysters (2.11×104 cells/ind.) was significantly higher than that during the recession period of the red tide (1.44×103 cells/ind.). During the blooming period of E. zodiacus, oysters tended to randomly feed on this dominant species, and preferred to feed on 5 diatom genera such as Nitzschia and Coscinodiscus, etc., during the recession period of the red tide, the oyster's feeding selectivity index decreased for most of phytoplankton species, preferring only Pleurosigma sp. and shifting to avoid its previously preferred genera Navicula and Paralia sulcata. The study indicated that the oyster may have limited control over the outbreaks of the E. zodiacus because it is not a preferred bait for oysters, and the oysters’ feeding selectivity changed significantly before and after the outbreaks of E. zodiacus, which suggests that its outbreaks may have affected the subsequent feeding behavior of oysters.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |