Comparison of environmental responding strategies between Ulva prolifera and Sargassum horneri:an in-situ study during the co-occurrence of green tides and golden tides in the Yellow Sea,China in 2017

Large-scale green tides in the Yellow Sea occurred for 13 consecutive years since 2007.The unusual co-occurrence of green tides and golden tides occurred in the Yellow Sea in 2017.The causative species are Ulva prolifera and/or Sargassum horneri.Previous studies on physiological response characteristics of U.prolifera and S.horner i are done in the laboratory mainly,and there is no in-situ comparative study in this regard.In this study,the in-situ physiological response characteristics of both species were measured.The results indicated that cyclic electron flow and antioxidant system play more important roles in protecting U.prolifera,while non-photochemical quenching is more important for adapting to the environment in S.horneri.U.prolifera has a stronger ability to utilize nutrients to rapidly increase its biomass under a suitable condition compared to S.horneri.