Insights into seasonal shift in the homogeneity of periphytic protozoan fauna in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China.

Abstract The seasonal shift in the homogeneity of the periphytic protozoan fauna was studied based on a four-season baseline survey in the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Samples were collected using glass microscope slides as an artificial substratum at a depth of 2 m after the immersion time of 14 days during each of the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn, 2017). The protozoan fauna showed a clear seasonal shift in species composition and a significant variation in homogeneity in terms of both compositional and community structure during four seasons. The dispersion measures and β-diversity index represented an increase in the trend from spring to winter. These findings suggest that the homogeneity of the periphytic protozoan fauna was subject to a significant variability shaped mainly by species composition during a four-season cycle in marine ecosystems.