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HERO ID
7864102
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Heterotrophy promotes the re-establishment of photosynthate translocation in a symbiotic coral after heat stress
Author(s)
Tremblay, P; Gori, A; Maguer, JF; Hoogenboom, M; Ferrier-Pagès, C
Year
2016
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Scientific Reports
EISSN:
2045-2322
Volume
6
Page Numbers
38112
Language
English
PMID
27917888
DOI
10.1038/srep38112
Web of Science Id
WOS:000389129900001
Abstract
Symbiotic scleractinian corals are particularly affected by climate change stress and respond by bleaching (losing their symbiotic dinoflagellate partners). Recently, the energetic status of corals is emerging as a particularly important factor that determines the corals' vulnerability to heat stress. However, detailed studies of coral energetic that trace the flow of carbon from symbionts to host are still sparse. The present study thus investigates the impact of heat stress on the nutritional interactions between dinoflagellates and coral Stylophora pistillata maintained under auto- and heterotrophy. First, we demonstrated that the percentage of autotrophic carbon retained in the symbionts was significantly higher during heat stress than under non-stressful conditions, in both fed and unfed colonies. This higher photosynthate retention in symbionts translated into lower rates of carbon translocation, which required the coral host to use tissue energy reserves to sustain its respiratory needs. As calcification rates were positively correlated to carbon translocation, a significant decrease in skeletal growth was observed during heat stress. This study also provides evidence that heterotrophic nutrient supply enhances the re-establishment of normal nutritional exchanges between the two symbiotic partners in the coral S. pistillata, but it did not mitigate the effects of temperature stress on coral calcification.
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