Levels of autotrophy and heterotrophy in mesophotic corals near the end photic zone

A Carmignani, VZ Radice, KM McMahon… - Frontiers in Marine …, 2023 - frontiersin.org
Mesophotic corals live at~ 30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-
limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or …

Mesophotic corals in Hawai 'i maintain autotrophy to survive low-light conditions

CH Backstrom, JL Padilla-Gamiño… - … of the Royal …, 2024 - royalsocietypublishing.org
In mesophotic coral ecosystems, reef-building corals and their photosynthetic symbionts can
survive with less than 1% of surface irradiance. How depth-specialist corals rely upon …

Using stable isotope analyses to assess the trophic ecology of scleractinian corals

MP Lesser, M Slattery, KJ Macartney - Oceans, 2022 - mdpi.com
Studies on the trophic ecology of scleractinian corals often include stable isotope analyses
of tissue and symbiont carbon and nitrogen. These approaches have provided critical …

Niche specialization of reef-building corals in the mesophotic zone: metabolic trade-offs between divergent Symbiodinium types

TF Cooper, KE Ulstrup, SS Dandan… - … of the Royal …, 2011 - royalsocietypublishing.org
The photobiology of two reef corals and the distribution of associated symbiont types were
investigated over a depth gradient of 0–60 m at Scott Reef, Western Australia. Pachyseris …

Differential strategies developed by two light-dependent scleractinian corals to extend their vertical range to mesophotic depths

G Pérez-Rosales, H Rouzé, M Pichon, P Bongaerts… - Coral Reefs, 2024 - Springer
Mesophotic coral ecosystems are characterised by the presence of photosynthetic
scleractinian corals despite the decreasing amounts of light available with depth. To better …

The role of plankton in coral trophodynamics

C Ferrier-Pagès, M Hoogenboom… - Coral reefs: An ecosystem …, 2011 - Springer
Historically, reef-building corals have been considered to be photoautotrophs due to their
symbiosis with dinoflagellates that transfer photosynthetically fixed carbon to the animal …

Divergent symbiont communities determine the physiology and nutrition of a reef coral across a light-availability gradient

CB Wall, M Kaluhiokalani, BN Popp… - The ISME …, 2020 - academic.oup.com
Reef corals are mixotrophic organisms relying on symbiont-derived photoautotrophy and
water column heterotrophy. Coral endosymbionts (Family: Symbiodiniaceae), while typically …

Populations of a widespread hexacoral have trophic plasticity and flexible syntrophic interactions across the Indo-Pacific Ocean

MEA Santos, DM Baker, IE Conti-Jerpe, JD Reimer - Coral Reefs, 2021 - Springer
Benthic cnidarians are suspension feeders that ingest items ranging from particulate organic
matter to macrozooplankton. Additionally, many species receive photosynthetic products …

Summer autotrophy and winter heterotrophy in the temperate symbiotic coral Cladocora caespitosa

C Ferrier-Pagès, A Peirano, M Abbate… - Limnology and …, 2011 - Wiley Online Library
Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) were determined in the zooxanthellae,
host tissue, and whole symbiotic association of the symbiotic temperate coral Cladocora …

Scleractinian corals rely on heterotrophy in highly turbid environments

N Travaglione, R Evans, M Moustaka, M Cuttler… - Coral Reefs, 2023 - Springer
Coral communities can survive in stressful environments; however, the mechanisms corals
employ to endure challenging conditions are poorly understood. This study assessed how …