Mesophotic corals in Hawaii maintain autotrophy to survive low-light conditions: Stable isotope dataset
Description
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 autotrophically and heterotrophically-derived energy sources across the mesophotic zone remains unclear. We analyzed the stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values of a Leptoseris community from the ʻAuʻau Channel, Maui, Hawaiʻi (65-125 m) including four coral host species living symbiotically with three algal haplotypes. We characterized the isotope values of hosts and symbionts across species and depth to compare trophic strategies. Symbiont δ13C was consistently 0.5‰ higher than host δ13C at all depths. Mean colony host and symbiont δ15N differed by up to 3.7‰ at shallow depths and converged at deeper depths. These results suggest that both heterotrophy and autotrophy remained integral to colony survival across depth. The increasing similarity between host and symbiont δ15N at deeper depths suggests that nitrogen is more efficiently shared between mesophotic coral hosts and their algal symbionts to sustain autotrophy. Isotopic trends across depth did not generally vary by host species or algal haplotype, suggesting that photosynthesis remains essential to Leptoseris survival and growth despite low light availability in the mesophotic zone.
Notes
Funding provided by: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (Coastal Ocean Program) *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: NA07NOS4780187
Funding provided by: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (Coastal Ocean Program) *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: NA07NOS478190
Funding provided by: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (Coastal Ocean Program) *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: NA07NOS4780189
Funding provided by: Coral Reef Conservation Program
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100018610
Award Number: NA09OAR4300219
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: EPS-0903833
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research *
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: OCE- 0752604
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF)*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: IOS – 1655888
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF)*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: IOS -1655682
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF)*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: OCE CAREER-2044840
Funding provided by: Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: FWP number 449B
Funding provided by: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/05qx3fv49
Award Number: 2013-67012-21272
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