Organic matter release by dominant hermatypic corals of the Northern Red Sea

Naumann, Malik S.; Haas, Andreas F.; Struck, Ulrich; Mayr, Christoph; el-Zibdah, Mohammad; Wild, Christian

doi:10.1007/s00338-010-0612-7

Cited by 99 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…11, 16 and 28% after 4, 24 and 48h, respectively, or 4.3gCcm -2 h -1 after 48h. These values are in the range of estimates of total DOC release by some other scleractinian corals (Tanaka et al, 2009;Tanaka et al, 2010;Naumann et al, 2010;Wild et al, 2010), and within the range of 6-40% of total fixed carbon measured after a few hours and up to 24h (Crossland et al, 1980;Davies, 1984;Davies, 1991;Edmunds and Davies, 1986). Our results also indicate that in the branching species S. pistillata, a high amount of newly fixed carbon can be rapidly transferred (within 2days) to the surrounding medium.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Autotrophic carbon budget in coral tissue: a new 13C-based model of photosynthate translocation

Tremblay

Grover

Maguer

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

138

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SUMMARYCorals live in symbiosis with dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinum. These dinoflagellates translocate a large part of the photosynthetically fixed carbon to the host, which in turn uses it for its own needs. Assessing the carbon budget in coral tissue is a central question in reef studies that still vexes ecophysiologists. The amount of carbon fixed by the symbiotic association can be determined by measuring the rate of photosynthesis, but the amount of carbon translocated by the symbionts to the host and the fate of this carbon are more difficult to assess. In the present study, we propose a novel approach to calculate the budget of autotrophic carbon in the tissue of scleractinian corals, based on a new model and measurements made with the stable isotope 13 C. Colonies of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata were incubated in H 13 CO 3 --enriched seawater, after which the fate of 13 C was followed in the symbionts, the coral tissue and the released particulate organic carbon (i.e. mucus). Results obtained showed that after 15min, ca. 60% of the carbon fixed was already translocated to the host, and after 48h, this value reached 78%. However, ca. 48% of the photosynthetically fixed carbon was respired by the symbiotic association, and 28% was released as dissolved organic carbon. This is different from other coral species, where <1% of the total organic carbon released is from newly fixed carbon. Only 23% of the initially fixed carbon was retained in the symbionts and coral tissue after 48h. Results show that our 13 C-based model could successfully trace the carbon flow from the symbionts to the host, and the photosynthetically acquired carbon lost from the symbiotic association.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Autotrophic carbon budget in coral tissue: a new 13C-based model of photosynthate translocation

Tremblay

Grover

Maguer

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

138

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“…Nitrogen-enriched corals, however, presented a decrease in organic carbon release, likely due, in the present experiment, to a higher utilization of photosynthetically acquired carbon, in combination with nitrogen, to form molecules of interest such as proteins. Three other studies have investigated the release of organic carbon by scleractinian corals in the presence of elevated nutrient concentrations (Tanaka et al, 2007;Naumann et al, 2010;Bednarz et al, 2012), and have also observed a reduced release or an increased uptake of organic carbon. In Bednarz et al (Bednarz et al, 2012), it was hypothesized that the enhanced uptake of dissolved organic carbon by the soft coral Xenia under nitrogen enrichment was due to a need for additional carbon compounds following the decrease in photosynthetic rates and carbon translocation of the symbionts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The total organic carbon (TOC) flux between seawater and corals was measured using the beaker incubation method according to Wild et al (Wild et al, 2005) and Naumann et al (Naumann et al, 2010). Prior to utilization, all beakers were washed with filtered (0.45μm) normal or nitrogen-enriched seawater depending on the treatment.…”

Section: Total Organic Carbonmentioning

confidence: 99%

The response of the scleractinian coralTurbinaria reniformisto thermal stress depends on the nitrogen status of the coral holobiont

Béraud

Gévaert

Rottier

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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N signatures of the ammonium-enriched symbionts and host tissue were also significantly decreased, by 4 and 2‰, respectively, compared with the non-enriched conditions, suggesting a significant uptake of inorganic nitrogen by the holobiont. Under thermal stress, coral colonies that were not nitrogen enriched experienced a drastic decrease in photosynthetic and photoprotective pigments (chlorophyll a, β-carotene, diadinoxanthin, diatoxanthin and peridinin), followed by a decrease in the rates of photosynthesis and calcification. Organic carbon release was not affected by this thermal stress. Conversely, nitrogen-enriched corals showed an increase in their pigment concentrations, and maintained rates of photosynthesis and calcification at ca. 60% and 100% of those measured under control conditions, respectively. However, these corals lost more organic carbon into the environment. Overall, these results indicate that inorganic nitrogen availability can be important to determining the resilience of some scleractinian coral species to thermal stress, and can have a function equivalent to that of heterotrophic feeding concerning the maintenance of coral metabolism under stress conditions.

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“…Although we did not measure mucus production in our study, we know that the closely related congener S. pistillata releases up to sixfold more mucus than other common reef corals (Naumann et al 2010). Although it has been found that increased inorganic nutrients (e.g., DIN derived from land runoff) reduce the mucus release in some corals due to a shift in energy allocation toward zooxanthellae propagation (Naumann et al 2010;Tanaka et al 2010), it is assumed that increased mucus release in response to increased sedimentation is paramount in our case.…”

Section: Interaction Between Photosynthesis Respiration and Calcifimentioning

confidence: 95%

Nutritional status and metabolism of the coral Stylophora subseriata along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago (Indonesia)

et al. 2011

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Coral responses to degrading water quality are highly variable between species and depend on their trophic plasticity, acclimatization potential, and stress resistance. To assess the nutritional status and metabolism of the common scleractinian coral, Stylophora subseriata, in situ experiments were carried along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago, Indonesia. Coral fragments were incubated in light and dark chambers to measure photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification in a number of shallow reefs along the gradient. Chlorophyll a (chl a), protein content, maximum quantum yield (F v / F m ), and effective quantum yield (U PS II) were measured on the zooxanthellae, in addition to host tissue protein content and biomass. Photosynthetic rates were 2.5-fold higher near-shore than mid-shelf due to higher areal zooxanthellae and chl a concentrations and a higher photochemical efficiency (U PS II). A 2-and 3-fold increase in areal host tissue protein and biomass was found, indicating a higher nutritional supply in coastal waters. Dark respiration, however, showed no corresponding changes. There was a weak correlation between calcification and photosynthesis (Pearson r = 0.386) and a lack of metabolic stress, as indicated by constant respiration and F v /F m and the ''clean'' and healthy appearance of the colonies in spite of high turbidity in near-shore waters. The latter suggests that part of the energetic gains through increased auto-and heterotrophy were spent on metabolic expenditures, e.g., mucus production. While coastal pollution is always deleterious to the reef ecosystem as a whole, our results show that the effect on corals may not always be negative. Thus, S. subseriata may be one of the few examples of corals actually profiting from land-based sources of pollution.

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Organic matter release by dominant hermatypic corals of the Northern Red Sea

Cited by 99 publications

References 43 publications

Autotrophic carbon budget in coral tissue: a new 13C-based model of photosynthate translocation

Autotrophic carbon budget in coral tissue: a new 13C-based model of photosynthate translocation

The response of the scleractinian coralTurbinaria reniformisto thermal stress depends on the nitrogen status of the coral holobiont

Nutritional status and metabolism of the coral Stylophora subseriata along a eutrophication gradient in Spermonde Archipelago (Indonesia)

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