Physiology of the widespread pulsating soft coral Xenia umbellata is affected by food sources, but not by water flow.

ABSTRACT: Coral energy and nutrient acquisition strategies are complex and sensitive to environmental conditions such as water flow. While high water flow can enhance feeding in hard corals, knowledge about the effects of water flow on the feeding of soft corals, particularly those pulsating, is still limited. In this study, we thus investigated the effects of feeding and water flow on the physiology of the pulsating soft coral Xenia umbellata. We crossed three feeding treatments: (i) no feeding, (ii) particulate organic matter (POM) in the form of phytoplankton and (iii) dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the form of glucose, with four water volume exchange rates (200, 350, 500 and 650 L h^-1) over 15 days. Various ecophysiological parameters were assessed including pulsation rate,

SUBMITTER: Hill CEL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10472534 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature