Flexibility of nutritional strategies within a mutualism: food availability affects algal symbiont productivity in two congeneric sea anemone species.

ABSTRACT: Mutualistic symbioses are common, especially in nutrient-poor environments where an association between hosts and symbionts can allow the symbiotic partners to persist and collectively out-compete non-symbiotic species. Usually these mutualisms are built on an intimate transfer of energy and nutrients (e.g. carbon and nitrogen) between host and symbiont. However, resource availability is not consistent, and the benefit of the symbiotic association can depend on the availability of resources to mutualists. We manipulated the diets of two temperate sea anemone species in the genus Anthopleura in the field and recorded the responses of sea anemones and algal symbionts in the family Symbiodiniaceae to our treatments. Algal symbiont density, symbiont volume and photosynthetic efficiency

SUBMITTER: Bedgood SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7739931 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature