Premium
Calcification does not stimulate photosynthesis in the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata
Author(s) -
Gattuso J.P.,
ReynaudVaganay S.,
Furla P.,
RomaineLioud S.,
Jaubert J.,
Bourge I.,
Frankignoulle M.
Publication year - 2000
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.2000.45.1.0246
Subject(s) - stylophora pistillata , photosynthesis , calcification , zooxanthellae , coral , respiration , botany , biology , cnidaria , scleractinia , coelenterata , ecology , symbiosis , bacteria , medicine , genetics , pathology
The interaction between photosynthesis and calcification remains poorly known in zooxanthellate scleractinian corals. We tested whether calcification is a significant source of CO 2 for photosynthesis in Stylophora pistillata . Rates of net photosynthesis, respiration, and calcification were measured on colonies incubated in synthetic seawater (SSW) controlled with respect to the inorganic carbon system and containing standard (11.40 mmol kg −1 ) and low (2.85 mmol kg −1 ) calcium concentrations. Net photosynthesis and respiration are not significantly different in standard and low‐Ca 2+ SSW despite a rate of calcification 2.0–2.4 times lower in Ca 2+ −depleted SSW. Additional experiments carried out on the noncalcifying zooxanthellate Anthozoa Anemonia viridis demonstrate that a low calcium concentration has no direct effect on rates of photosynthesis and respiration. It is suggested that calcification is not a significant source of photosynthetic CO 2 and that photosynthesis stimulates calcification rather than the opposite.