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Article Dans Une Revue Bulletin of Marine Science Année : 2009

Phosphate excretion by anemonefish and uptake by giant sea anemones: demand outstrips supply

Résumé

high biodiversity on coral reefs results in part from tight nutrient cycling among symbiotic organisms, such as within the obligate associations among some damselfishes, cnidarians, and zooxanthellae. Some anemonefish excrete ammonia 20-50× faster than host anemones can absorb this nutrient, leading to significant growth of the anemones and their zooxanthellae. In contrast, little is known about phosphate transfer in this major coral reef mutualism. We determined rates of phosphate excretion by anemonefish and uptake by giant sea anemones under laboratory conditions, and compared them with known rates of ammonia transfer in this symbiosis. Immediately after feeding with a phosphate-rich diet, anemonefish excreted phosphate at slow rates of 0.07 ± 0.01 µmol P g-1 d-1 , which did not vary significantly with body size. Starved anemones that had been cultured with phosphate supplements absorbed phosphate at a significantly slower rate (0.18 ± 0.03 µmol P g-1 d-1) than did those cultured with either no supplements or with anemonefish, which absorbed phosphate at similarly rapid rates (0.54 ± 0.01 and 0.51 ± 0.14 µmol P g-1 d-1 respectively). We conclude that under laboratory conditions, anemones absorb phosphate up to 6.6× faster than the rate at which it is excreted by their anemonefish, and thus fish do not appear to provide sufficient phosphate to their hosts through this pathway. Anemones may get most of their phosphorus via ingestion of fish feces and/or mucus, or via the ingestion of prey.
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hal-04148957 , version 1 (03-07-2023)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04148957 , version 1

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Claire Godinot, Nanette E Chadwick. Phosphate excretion by anemonefish and uptake by giant sea anemones: demand outstrips supply. Bulletin of Marine Science, 2009, 85 (1). ⟨hal-04148957⟩

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