Tamelander, C. Wexels Riser and the anonymous reviewers. “
“Bays are subject to various kinds of human pressure, such as domestic sewage, industrial waste, harbours, aquaculture and the activities of electric power plants. Increased anthropogenic input to embayments has resulted in their severe eutrophication. Primary production in such enriched environments has increased and phytoplankton communities have changed

(Oviatt et al., 1989, Spatharis et al., 2007 and Wang et al., 2009). The composition and structure of zooplankton are also significantly different, with the proportion of small zooplankton increasing in heavily eutrophic bays (Uye, 1994, Uye et al., 1998, Park and Marshall, 2000 and Chang et al., 2009). Daya Bay is a semi-enclosed bay on the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea (Figure 1a, see p. 585). In the last 30 years, the nutrient structure has become eutrophic mainly as a result of marine RG7204 manufacturer aquaculture and waste drainage from land (Wang et al., 2006, Wang et al., 2009 and Wu and Wang, 2007). The Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant (DNPP) has been operative in the south-west part of Daya Bay since 1993. These changes have affected the bay’s ecological environment. The growth of small diatoms has accelerated and become predominant in the aquaculture areas (Wang et al. 2009). The rise in temperature caused by thermal discharge

from the power plant has favoured dinoflagellates over diatoms AZD1208 in vivo (Li et al. 2011). The zooplankton in Daya Bay has been investigated since the 1980s (Xu 1989). However, little is known about the influence

of these human activities on the zooplankton at the scale of short- and long-term changes. The objective of this study was to attempt to understand the short-term variations of the zooplankton community and the influence of environmental factors on their distribution pattern. We hypothesised that the zooplankton community differed among the three areas (the outflow of nuclear power plant ONPP, the marine cage-culture area MCCA and the adjacent unpolluted waters UW). To test this hypothesis, we analysed the zooplankton species composition, its spatial and temporal variations, and environmental factors by the use of a high-frequency sampling strategy during a short period in Dapeng Cove (located in the south-west of Daya Bay). It was also expected not that the study would provide insight into the long-term variation of zooplankton in Daya Bay. Dapeng Cove (Figure 1a), was selected as the survey area because it is greatly affected by human activities. The DNPP is on the north shore of the cove. Fish, shrimp and shellfish aquaculture have been well developed there since 1985, and a cage-cultured fishery is situated in its inner waters, which results in highly eutrophic conditions. Six sampling stations were located in Dapeng Cove (Figure 1b). Stations 1 and 2 (S1 and S2) were at the water intake and outflow of the DNPP respectively.