Food selectivity and processing by the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa (original) (raw)
2016, Biogeosciences Discussions
Cold-water corals form prominent reef ecosystems along ocean margins that depend on suspended resources produced in surface waters. In this study we investigated food processing of 13C and 15N labelled bacteria and algae by the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. Coral respiration, tissue incorporation of C and N and metabolic-derived C incorporation into the skeleton were traced following the additions of different food concentrations (100, 300, 1300 µg C L−1) and two ratios of suspended bacterial and algal biomass (1:1, 3:1). Respiration and tissue incorporation by L. pertusa increased markedly following exposure to higher food concentrations. The net growth efficiency of L. pertusa was low (0.08 ± 0.03), which is consistent with their slow growth rates. The contribution of algae and bacteria to total coral assimilation was proportional to the food mixture in the two lowest food concentrations, but algae were preferred over bacteria as food source ...
Related papers
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.