Temperature plays a key role in shaping the types of tiny plants (phytoplankton) found in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. By studying the phytoplankton communities in these areas, scientists found that temperature affects the structure of these communities by creating different layers in the water. They discovered that the temperature influences the abundance and types of phytoplankton by affecting how they are distributed vertically in the sea. This means that the temperature of the water plays a big part in determining which phytoplankton species thrive in these seas.