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Symbioses with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium form the foundation of tropical coral reef communities. Symbiodinium photosynthesis fuels the growth of an array of marine invertebrates, including cnidarians such as scleractinian corals and octocorals (e.g., gorgonian and soft corals). Studies examining the symbioses between Caribbean gorgonian corals and Symbiodinium are sparse, even though gorgonian corals blanket the landscape of Caribbean coral reefs. The objective of this study was to compare photosynthetic characteristics of Symbiodinium in four common Caribbean gorgonian species: Pterogorgia anceps, Eunicea tourneforti, Pseudoplexaura porosa, and Pseudoplexaura wagenaari.  Symbiodinium  associated with these four species exhibited differences in Symbiodinium density, chlorophyll a per cell, light absorption by chlorophyll a, and rates of photosynthetic oxygen production. The two Pseudoplexaura species had higher Symbiodinium densities and chlorophyll a per Symbiodinium cell but lower chlorophyll a specific absorption compared to P. anceps and E. tourneforti. Consequently, P. porosa and P. wagenaari had the highest average photosynthetic rates per cm 2  but the lowest average photosynthetic rates per Symbiodinium cell or chlorophyll a. With the exception of Symbiodinium from E. tourneforti, isolated Symbiodinium did not photosynthesize at the same rate as Symbiodinium in hospite. Differences in  Symbiodinium  photosynthetic performance could not be attributed to  Symbiodinium  type. All  P. anceps  (n = 9) and  P. wagenaari  (n = 6) colonies, in addition to one  E. tourneforti  and three  P. porosa  colonies, associated with  Symbiodinium  type B1. The B1  Symbiodinium  from these four gorgonian species did not cluster with lineages of B1  Symbiodinium  from scleractinian corals. The remaining eight  E. tourneforti  colonies harbored  Symbiodinium  type B1L, while six  P. porosa  colonies harbored type B1i. Understanding the symbioses between gorgonian corals and  Symbiodinium  will aid in deciphering why gorgonian corals dominate many Caribbean reefs.

Symbiodinium Photosynthesis in Caribbean Octocorals