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ON THE FEEDING OF SOME SCLERACTINIAN CORALS WITH BACTERIA AND DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER
Author(s) -
Sorokin Yu. I.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1973.18.3.0380
Subject(s) - plankton , organic matter , reef , coral , algae , phosphate , environmental chemistry , dissolved organic carbon , biology , coral reef , heterotroph , cnidaria , coelenterata , ecology , total organic carbon , phosphorus , bacteria , chemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , genetics
Feeding experiments were carried out with 6 species of common scleractinian reef‐building corals from reefs of the Bismarck Archipelago. Their ability to utilize planktonic bacteria and dissolved organic matter (protein hydrolyzate) as food was demonstrated by using radiocarbon. The amount of organic carbon assimilated per day by animals given labeled food at concentrations approaching those found in situ was equivalent to 10–20% of the carbon content of the polyp’s body. The rate of consumption and assimilation of some planktonic algae by corals was much lower. Corals could consume organic phosphorus bound in the cells of planktonic bacteria more actively than inorganic phosphate at the same concentration (several µ g liter 1 ). The rate of consumption of phosphorus was 3 µ g g −1 day −1.