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Ecology of the Symbiotic Coral Cladocora caespitosa (L.) (Faviidae, Scleractinia) in the Bay of Piran (Adriatic Sea): II. Energy Budget
Author(s) -
Schiller Christian
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0485.1993.tb00481.x
Subject(s) - zooxanthellae , scleractinia , biology , coelenterata , coral , ecology , cnidaria , botany , respiration , oceanography , anthozoa , symbiosis , geology , genetics , bacteria
. The temperate, symbiotic coral Cladocora caespitosa occurs naturally with variable numbers of zooxanthellae. This allows us to study differences in the physiology of symbiotic and “non‐symbiotic” polyps and to correlate them with zooxanthellae activities. Zooxanthellae density in “dark” (normal‐colored) polyps was 50 times higher than in “white” (bleached) polyps. The chlorophyll a content per zooxanthella was 3 times, and Chi c was 13 times higher in white polyps than in dark ones. O 2 ‐flux experiments were conducted with colonies in situ and with single polyps ‐ dark and white ‐ under laboratory conditions. Two approaches were used to evaluate the contribution of zooxanthellae translocation products to animal respiration. Both revealed that the animal tissues derive a higher benefit from the zooxanthellae during periods of low water temperature than during warm periods.