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Biogeography and microhabitat variation in temperate algal‐invertebrate symbioses: zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae in two Pacific intertidal sea anemones, Anthopleura elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica
Author(s) -
Secord David,
Augustine Leon
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
invertebrate biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.486
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1744-7410
pISSN - 1077-8306
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2000.tb00002.x
Subject(s) - zooxanthellae , intertidal zone , biology , anemone , sea anemone , symbiodinium , cnidaria , ecology , algae , coelenterata , benthic zone , symbiosis , temperate climate , habitat , oceanography , coral , genetics , bacteria , geology
. Temperate sea anemones in the genus Anthopleura are unique among cnidarians in harboring two phylogenetically distinct symbiotic algae, zooxanthellae (golden‐brown dinophytes, Symbiodinium ) and zoochlorellae (green chlorophytes). To determine whether their physiological differences generate patterns in anemone habitat and biogeographic distribution, we sampled symbiotic algae in the small clonal A. elegantissima and the large solitary A. xanthogrammica at 8 field sites (and the other large solitary Anthopleura species at one site) spanning 18° of latitude along 2500 km of the Pacific coast of North America. We found that zoochlorellae predominate in low intertidal habitats and northerly latitudes and in A. xanthogrammica , while zooxanthellae constitute the majority of symbionts in high intertidal habitats and more southerly latitudes and in A. elegantissima. These data are consistent with published predictions based on photosynthetic efficiency of the two algae under varied temperature and light regimes in the laboratory. This anemone‐algal system provides a potential biological signal of benthic intertidal communities' responses to El Niño events and long‐term climate changes in the Pacific.