Amino acid δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N analyses reveal distinct species-specific patterns of trophic plasticity in a marine symbiosis.

ABSTRACT: Compound-specific isotope analyses (CSIA) and multivariate "isotope fingerprinting" track biosynthetic sources and reveal trophic interactions in food webs. However, CSIA have not been widely applied in the study of marine symbioses. Here, we exposed a reef coral (Montipora capitata) in symbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae algae to experimental treatments (autotrophy, mixotrophy, heterotrophy) to test for trophic shifts and amino acid (AA) sources using paired bulk (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and AA-CSIA (δ¹³C_AA, δ¹⁵N_AA). Treatments did not influence carbon or nitrogen trophic proxies, thereby not supporting nutritional plasticity. Instead, hosts and symbionts consistently overlapped in essential- and nonessential-δ¹³C_AA</

SUBMITTER: Wall CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8252108 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature