Quantifying the transfer of prey δ15N signatures into coral holobiont nitrogen pools

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 610:33-49 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12847 Quantifying the transfer of prey δ15N signatures into coral holobiont nitrogen pools Maria Salomé Rangel1,*, Dirk Erler2, Alejandro Tagliafico1, Ken Cowden1, Sander Scheffers3, Les Christidis1 1National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, Australia 2Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia 3Marine Ecology Research Center, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia *Corresponding author: salome453@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Nitrogen stable isotope (δ15N) signatures of coral and skeletal tissues are commonly used to identify spatial and temporal patterns in the source and supply of nitrogen to coral reefs. A 15N labelled particulate food source (rotifers) was used to quantify the incorporation of prey nitrogen into the nitrogen pools (coral, algal tissues and skeletal organic matter) of Porites lutea, and to estimate the time taken for the δ15N signature of source nitrogen to be reflected in the different tissue fractions of the coral holobiont. Neither coral nor algal fractions displayed the full expression of the food source δ15N over a 60 d experimental period. The response of the skeletal δ15N value to the food δ15N was slower than the coral tissue, but this may have been caused by coarse sampling resolution coupled with a short experimental period. Using a mass-balance model, we determined that the corals must have been augmenting their rotifer diets by up to 50% with dissolved nitrogen from the water column. Using the δ15N of the combined food source (i.e. dissolved and rotifer nitrogen), we calculated tissue turnover rates of 87 d for the coral tissue and 111 d for the algal symbionts. These values dictate that the duration of any change in the δ15N of a coral’s N source needs to be greater than 3 mo to register its full magnitude in the tissue and skeletal nitrogen pools. This has implications for studies in which the host, symbiont and skeletal δ15N are used as a proxy for temporal changes in the source of nitrogen to coral reefs. Our results also support the notion of a bidirectional exchange of N between the coral and algae fractions, and provide estimations of the assimilation and excretion of N during heterotrophic feeding. KEY WORDS: Coral nutrient recycling · Nitrogen isotopes · Palaeo-oceanographic reconstructions · Porites · Great Barrier Reef Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Rangel MS, Erler D, Tagliafico A, Cowden K, Scheffers S, Christidis L (2019) Quantifying the transfer of prey δ15N signatures into coral holobiont nitrogen pools. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 610:33-49. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12847 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 610. Online publication date: February 01, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.