The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Impacts of Submesoscale Eddies on Plankton Community Structure and Their Underlying Mechanisms
ID:556 Oral Presentation

2027-01-14 16:05 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 24 - High resolution spatial and temporal variation of plankton communities

Abstract
Abstract: Mesoscale eddies and embedded submesoscale dynamics critically dictate ocean biogeochemistry; yet, how their fine-scale physical–biological coupling modulates phytoplankton community assembly and diazotrophic activity across eddy life stages remains elusive due to observational limitations. Here, using a targeted high-resolution (~10 km) multi-parameter survey in the northern South China Sea, we unravel the fine-structure of eddy-driven physical–biological interactions across distinct developmental stages of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies. Submesoscale features—including fronts, strain, and secondary circulations—generate pronounced nutrient patchiness, which interacts with top-down grazing pressure (resolved via copepod gut metabarcoding) to restructure phytoplankton communities. Ochrophyta dominates resilient, diverse eddy margins, whereas decaying cyclonic cores are dominated by Gyrodinium with depleted diversity and dispersal limitation. Conversely, intensifying anticyclonic eddies select for the mixotrophic picophytoplankton Chloroparvula pacifica (24.0 ± 4.5%). Crucially, submesoscale frontal dynamics, intrinsically linked to intense turbulent dissipation, drive advective transport and convergence to aggregate nutrients and Trichodesmium spp., creating biogeochemical hotspots where N₂ fixation sustains 20%–30% of primary production nitrogen demand. Our findings demonstrate that stage-specific submesoscale physics strictly govern upper-ocean community succession and nitrogen resupply, highlighting the imperative of integrating submesoscale turbulent processes into global ocean ecosystem models.
Speaker
Jiaxing Liu Chinese Academy of Sciences;South China Sea Institute of Oceanology

Author
Jiaxing Liu Chinese Academy of Sciences;South China Sea Institute of Oceanology

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
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    • Apr 30

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    • Apr 30

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    • Jun 30

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      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

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    • Sep 15

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    • Oct 15

      2026

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    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027