Dataset: Tracer data
Data Citation:
Kemp, D. (2023) Nutrient transfer experiments with host coral and symbionts under varying environmental conditions conducted March 2014 and March 2015. Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). (Version 1) Version Date 2023-08-29 [if applicable, indicate subset used]. doi:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.907003.1 [access date]
Terms of Use
This dataset is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
If you wish to use this dataset, it is highly recommended that you contact the original principal investigators (PI). Should the relevant PI be unavailable, please contact BCO-DMO (info@bco-dmo.org) for additional guidance. For general guidance please see the BCO-DMO Terms of Use document.
DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.907003.1
Spatial Extent: N:7.3245 E:134.4939 S:7.248833 W:134.235817
Temporal Extent: 2014-03-01 - 2015-03-01
Project:
Collaborative Research: Stability, flexibility, and functionality of thermally tolerant coral symbioses
(Thermally tolerant coral)
Principal Investigator:
Dustin Kemp (University of Alabama at Birmingham, UA/Birmingham)
Version:
1
Version Date:
2023-08-29
Restricted:
No
Validated:
Yes
Current State:
Final no updates expected
Nutrient transfer experiments with host coral and symbionts under varying environmental conditions conducted March 2014 and March 2015
Abstract:
Symbiotic mutualisms are essential to ecosystems and numerous species across the tree of life. For reef-building corals, the benefits of their association with endosymbiotic dinoflagellates differ within and across taxa, and nutrient exchange between these partners is influenced by environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is widely assumed that corals associated with symbionts in the genus Durusdinium tolerate high thermal stress at the expense of lower nutrient exchange to support coral growth. We traced both inorganic carbon (H13CO3–) and nitrate (15NO3–) uptake by divergent symbiont species and quantified nutrient transfer to the host coral under normal temperatures as well as in colonies exposed to high thermal stress. Colonies representative of diverse coral taxa associated with Durusdinium trenchii or Cladocopium spp. exhibited similar nutrient exchange under ambient conditions. In contrast, heat-exposed colonies with D. trenchii experienced less physiological stress than conspecifics with Cladocopium spp. while high carbon assimilation and host transfer was maintained. This discovery is different from the prevailing notion that these mutualisms inevitably suffer trade-offs in physiological performance. These findings emphasize that certain host-symbiont combinations adapted to high temperature equatorial environments; and why their increase in prevalence is likely important to the future productivity and stability of coral reef ecosystems.