Dataset Information

Reef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts.

ABSTRACT: Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that thrive in nutrient-poor waters, a phenomenon frequently referred to as the Darwin paradox¹. The energy demand of coral animal hosts can often be fully met by the excess production of carbon-rich photosynthates by their algal symbionts^2,3. However, the understanding of mechanisms that enable corals to acquire the vital nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from their symbionts is incomplete^4-9. Here we show, through a series of long-term experiments, that the uptake of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus by the symbionts alone is sufficient to sustain rapid coral growth. Next, considering the nitrogen and phosphorus budgets of host and symbionts, we identify that these nutrients are gathered through symbiont 'farming' and are translocated to the host by digestion of excess symbiont cells. Finally, we use a large-scale natural experiment in which seabirds fertilize some reefs but not others, to show that the efficient utilization of dissolved inorganic nutrients by symbiotic corals established in our laboratory experiments has the potential to enhance coral growth in the wild at the ecosystem level. Feeding on symbionts enables coral animals to tap into an important nutrient pool and helps to explain the evolutionary and ecological success of symbiotic corals in nutrient-limited waters.

SUBMITTER: Wiedenmann J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10468396 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Reef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts.

Wiedenmann Jörg J D'Angelo Cecilia C Mardones M Loreto ML Moore Shona S Benkwitt Cassandra E CE Graham Nicholas A J NAJ Hambach Bastian B Wilson Paul A PA Vanstone James J Eyal Gal G Ben-Zvi Or O Loya Yossi Y Genin Amatzia A

Nature 20230823 7976

Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that thrive in nutrient-poor waters, a phenomenon frequently referred to as the Darwin paradox1. The energy demand of coral animal hosts can often be fully met by the excess production of carbon-rich photosynthates by their algal symbionts2,3. However, the understanding of mechanisms that enable corals to acquire the vital nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from their symbionts is incomplete4-9. Here we show, through a ser ...[more]

PMID: 37612503

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Project description:Reef-building corals in the genus Porites are one of the most important constituents of Indo-Pacific reefs. Many species within this genus tolerate abnormally warm water and exhibit high specificity for particular kinds of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates that cope with thermal stress better than those living in other corals. Still, during extreme ocean heating, some Porites exhibit differences in their stress tolerance. While corals have different physiological qualities, it remains unknown whether the stability and performance of these mutualisms is influenced by the physiology and genetic relatedness of their symbionts. We investigated two ubiquitous Pacific reef corals, Porites rus and Porites cylindrica, from warmer inshore and cooler offshore reef systems in Palau. While these corals harbored a similar kind of symbiont in the genus Cladocopium (within the ITS2 C15 subclade), rapidly evolving genetic markers revealed evolutionarily diverged lineages corresponding to each Porites species living in each reef habitat. Furthermore, these closely related Cladocopium lineages were differentiated by their densities in host tissues, cell volume, chlorophyll concentration, gross photosynthesis, and photoprotective pathways. When assessed using several physiological proxies, these previously undifferentiated symbionts contrasted in their tolerance to thermal stress. Symbionts within P. cylindrica were relatively unaffected by exposure to 32℃ for 14 days, whereas P. rus colonies lost substantial numbers of photochemically compromised symbionts. Heating reduced the ability of the offshore symbiont associated with P. rus to translocate carbon to the coral. By contrast, high temperatures enhanced symbiont carbon assimilation and delivery to the coral skeleton of inshore P. cylindrica. This study indicates that large physiological differences exist even among closely related symbionts, with significant implications for thermal susceptibility among reef-building Porites.

Dataset Information

Reef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts.

Publications

Reef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts.

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