Diazotroph diversity and nitrogen fixation in the coral Stylophora pistillata from the Great Barrier Reef.

ABSTRACT: Diazotrophs, both Bacteria and Archaea, capable of fixing nitrogen (N₂), are present in the tissues and mucous, of corals and can supplement the coral holobiont nitrogen budget with fixed nitrogen (N) in the form of ammonia (NH₃). Stylophora pistillata from Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef collected at 5 and 15 m, and experimentally manipulated in the laboratory, showed that the rates of net photosynthesis, steady state quantum yields of photosystem II (PSII) fluorescence (∆F_v/F_m') and calcification varied based on irradiance as expected. Rates of N₂ fixation were, however, invariant across treatments while the amount of fixed N contributing to Symbiodinium spp. N demand is irradiance dependent. Additionally, both the Symbiodiniu

SUBMITTER: Lesser MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5864219 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature