The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching
Mariculture is currently experiencing rapid growth in response to the rising global food demand, while simultaneously posing significant challenges to environmental issues, such as pollution stress and ecological degradation. To achieve a balance between ecosystem maintenance and seafood supply, mar...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/835 |
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| author | Dongqun Wei Zeping Xie Jialin Li Diansheng Ji Lin Qu Baoquan Li Xiao Wei Song Qin |
| author_facet | Dongqun Wei Zeping Xie Jialin Li Diansheng Ji Lin Qu Baoquan Li Xiao Wei Song Qin |
| author_sort | Dongqun Wei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mariculture is currently experiencing rapid growth in response to the rising global food demand, while simultaneously posing significant challenges to environmental issues, such as pollution stress and ecological degradation. To achieve a balance between ecosystem maintenance and seafood supply, marine ranching has flourished as a sustainable approach through the implementation of artificial reef construction, stock enhancement, and strategic releasing. However, few studies have evaluated the ecological impacts through a comparison of in situ survey data across geographical areas. Phytoplankton are vital organisms in marine ecosystems that function as essential indicators of seawater quality and biological diversity, reflecting environmental health and ecological sustainability. In this study, we investigated the species diversity, community structure, and co-occurrence network of phytoplankton based on 175 samples collected from 75 sites encompassing all 26 marine ranching seawater areas, along with their corresponding surrounding areas in Yantai’s coastal sea. A total of 112 species were identified across three phyla of diatoms, dinoflagellates, and chrysophytes; among them, diatoms dominated the community with a notably high proportion of 98.83%. Their diversity and structure exhibited significant variations across different seasons and geographic locations. Moreover, no preference was observed between the marine ranching seawater and the surrounding areas. Nevertheless, a co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that lower values for average degree, clustering coefficient, and average path length were exhibited in marine ranching, indicating that aquaculture activities have reduced connectivity among potential interactions. Additionally, it showed reduced stability as indicated by the remaining nodes and the natural connectivity indices, regardless of the proportion of nodes removed. These findings illustrate that while marine ranching processes can mitigate species losses with maintaining phytoplankton community structure, they still alter association among species and reduce overall stability. This research recommends that scientifically informed expansion of marine ranching necessitates robust environmental monitoring datasets and systematic validation to ensure holistic sustainability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df89cd180a284cc7b3ebfc006a198a6e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-df89cd180a284cc7b3ebfc006a198a6e2025-08-20T03:14:36ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-04-0113583510.3390/jmse13050835The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine RanchingDongqun Wei0Zeping Xie1Jialin Li2Diansheng Ji3Lin Qu4Baoquan Li5Xiao Wei6Song Qin7School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, ChinaSchool of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, ChinaLaboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resource Conservation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaYantai Marine Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Yantai 264006, ChinaYantai Marine Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Yantai 264006, ChinaLaboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resource Conservation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Restoration for Marine Ecology, Shandong Marine Resource and Environment Research Institute, Yantai 264006, ChinaLaboratory of Coastal Biology and Biological Resource Conservation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, ChinaMariculture is currently experiencing rapid growth in response to the rising global food demand, while simultaneously posing significant challenges to environmental issues, such as pollution stress and ecological degradation. To achieve a balance between ecosystem maintenance and seafood supply, marine ranching has flourished as a sustainable approach through the implementation of artificial reef construction, stock enhancement, and strategic releasing. However, few studies have evaluated the ecological impacts through a comparison of in situ survey data across geographical areas. Phytoplankton are vital organisms in marine ecosystems that function as essential indicators of seawater quality and biological diversity, reflecting environmental health and ecological sustainability. In this study, we investigated the species diversity, community structure, and co-occurrence network of phytoplankton based on 175 samples collected from 75 sites encompassing all 26 marine ranching seawater areas, along with their corresponding surrounding areas in Yantai’s coastal sea. A total of 112 species were identified across three phyla of diatoms, dinoflagellates, and chrysophytes; among them, diatoms dominated the community with a notably high proportion of 98.83%. Their diversity and structure exhibited significant variations across different seasons and geographic locations. Moreover, no preference was observed between the marine ranching seawater and the surrounding areas. Nevertheless, a co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that lower values for average degree, clustering coefficient, and average path length were exhibited in marine ranching, indicating that aquaculture activities have reduced connectivity among potential interactions. Additionally, it showed reduced stability as indicated by the remaining nodes and the natural connectivity indices, regardless of the proportion of nodes removed. These findings illustrate that while marine ranching processes can mitigate species losses with maintaining phytoplankton community structure, they still alter association among species and reduce overall stability. This research recommends that scientifically informed expansion of marine ranching necessitates robust environmental monitoring datasets and systematic validation to ensure holistic sustainability.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/835phytoplankton communityspecies compositionco-occurrence networkecological impactsmarine ranching processes |
| spellingShingle | Dongqun Wei Zeping Xie Jialin Li Diansheng Ji Lin Qu Baoquan Li Xiao Wei Song Qin The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching Journal of Marine Science and Engineering phytoplankton community species composition co-occurrence network ecological impacts marine ranching processes |
| title | The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching |
| title_full | The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching |
| title_fullStr | The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching |
| title_short | The Phytoplankton Community Exhibited Restored Species Diversity but Fragile Network Stability Under Potential Sustainable Aquaculture Approach of Marine Ranching |
| title_sort | phytoplankton community exhibited restored species diversity but fragile network stability under potential sustainable aquaculture approach of marine ranching |
| topic | phytoplankton community species composition co-occurrence network ecological impacts marine ranching processes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/5/835 |
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