Articles | Volume 23, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-509-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-509-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
20 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 20 Jan 2026
| 20 Jan 2026
Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in diazotrophic communities reveals novel niche zonation on the continental shelf of the East China Sea
Guangming Mai
Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, PR China
Han Zhang
Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, PR China
Meng Chen
Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, PR China
Marine Genomics and Biotechnology Program, Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, PR China
Related authors
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Han Zhang, Guangming Mai, Weicheng Luo, Meng Chen, Ran Duan, and Tuo Shi
Biogeosciences, 21, 2529–2546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2529-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2529-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We report taxon-specific biogeography of N2-fixing microbes (diazotrophs) driven by Kuroshio intrusion (Kl) into the South China Sea. We show that the composition and distribution of distinct diazotrophic taxa shift with Kl-induced variations in physicochemical parameters of seawater and that Kl shapes diazotrophic community primarily as a stochastic process. This study thus has implications for the distribution of diazotrophs in a future warming ocean, as Kls are projected to intensify.
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Short summary
We present taxon-specific niche zonation of nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) microbes in the East China Sea. We show spatiotemporal variations in the distribution and activity of diazotrophic ecotypes that are highly correlated with distinct water masses. The realized niche partitioning underscores the link between diazotrophic biogeography and physicochemical gradients created by complex land-ocean interactions, which are primarily affected by the Kuroshio intrusion and the East Asia monsoon.
We present taxon-specific niche zonation of nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) microbes in the East...
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