Fungal Aerosol Diversity Over the Northern South China Sea: The Influence of Land and Ocean. Issue 6 (14th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shi, Yuting; Lai, Senchao; Liu, Ye; Gromov, Sergey; Zhang, Yingyi
• Is Part Of: Journal of geophysical research. Volume 127:Issue 6(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-03-14
• Subjects: fungal aerosol -- community -- spatial variation -- tropical land -- South China Sea; Atmospheric physics -- Periodicals; Geophysics -- Periodicals; 551.5
• DOI: 10.1029/2021JD035213
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2169-897X

Abstract

Abstract: Fungal aerosols are ubiquitous in the atmosphere and can directly and/or indirectly affect the atmospheric cloud formation process, which play an important role in global climate change and human health. In this study, we performed a comprehensive study on airborne fungi over the northern South China Sea (NSCS). Total suspended particle (TSP) samples were collected during a cruise campaign in the NSCS, and fungal community structure was obtained via high‐throughput sequencing method. The abundance of Ascomycota (AMC) was much higher than that of Basidiomycota (BMC) in the marine fungal aerosols over this region. We observed relatively high abundances of Nigrospora and Cladosporium, two genera belonging to AMC, in the near‐coast samples compared to those in the open‐ocean samples. Therefore, we proposed that they could be used as the potential terrestrial source indicators in this region. The richness of fungal diversity and composition of fungal community were found to be dependent on the distance to the Asian continental coast, suggesting the strong influence of terrestrial sources. Over the open ocean, terrestrial and marine contribution could significantly impact the diversity richness and community structure of the fungal aerosols. This study could improve the current understanding of fungal aerosols on their characteristics and influencing factors over the oceanic area. Plain Language Summary: In this study, we present a comprehensive study on airborne fungi over the northern South China Sea (NSCS) via onboard sampling and high‐throughput sequencing method. Fungal aerosols exhibited evident spatial variations fungal diversity richness and community structure depending on the distance to the land. The contribution of land and ocean was investigated in this study in order to understand the sources and influencing factors in such a vast oceanic area with the frequent exchange of terrestrial and oceanic air masses. We investigated the fungal aerosol composition profiles at phylum, class, order, family and genus levels, and then proposed that, at genus level, Nigrospora and Cladosporium could be used as the potential terrestrial indicators in this oceanic area. Based on two specific cases collected in the open ocean with distinct influence of land and ocean, we present how terrestrial and oceanic sources with the influence of long‐range transport play their roles in the diversity richness and community structure of marine fungal aerosols. Our findings will certainly extend the current understanding of fungal aerosols. Key Points: The spatial variation of fungal aerosol community was influenced by sampling area and air mass Sources from land strongly affected fungal aerosols over the northern South China Sea Nigrospora and Cladosporium are the potential terrestrial indicators for fungal aerosols