Seminar

The Bohai Sea, one of the largest marginal seas in China, is extensively influenced by human and industrial activities. The pollutant loads from anthropogenic activities have induced severe ecological problems in the Bohai Sea. The study investigates the physicochemical characteristics of the seawater and sediments in Bohai Bay and Laizhou Bay of the Bohai Sea. The diversity and composition of microbial community in sediments are analysed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Both bays present high abundance of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling related microbes and sulfur-reduction bacteria. The metabolism of organic matters is the dominant factor that influences the distribution of microbial communities in Bohai Bay, while the terrestrial inputs of total nitrogen and the dilution of the freshwater from the Yellow River are the two dominant factors that influence the distribution of microbial communities in Laizhou Bay. Sulfur reduction process is expected to be positively influenced by heavy metals, while ammonium oxidization process is prone to be affected by heavy metals in both bays. The results of the study can provide constructive guidelines on ecosystem management of marginal seas in Bohai and elsewhere.