Abstract: Marine macroalgae are the important components of coastal primary productivity, playing a key role in the coastal carbon cycle. In recent years, there is a growing recognition that marine macroalgae could be a good solution of bioremediation to the problem of coastal eutrophication. Coastal eutrophication may lead to the excessive growth in some species of opportunistic macroalgae. Therefore, it is essential to further understand the relationships between marine macroalgae and changes of nutrient supply. This paper reviewed the related ecophysiological issues on the relationships between macroalgae and coastal eutrophication (increasing nutrient supply in seawater), with the focus on the factors affecting the characteristics of nutrient uptake by marine macroalgae, their intercellular storage of nutrients, ecological requirements of nutrients, and ecological responses to the coastal eutrophication. The prospects for future research werealso discussed.

Key words: Houhe Nature Reserve, Sycopsis sinensis, Dominant population, Population structure, Spatial distribution pattern