Supply of regenerated nitrogen to sea anemones by their symbiotic shrimp

Abstract

The spotted anemone shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), a frequent symbiont of the giant sea anemone, Condylactis gigantea Weinland, 1860, excretes ammonia at the rate of 0.0393 μmol total NH 4-N/(g of shrimp min), enriching the nitrogen concentration among the anemone's tentacles. Anemones associated recently with a shrimp demonstrated an enhanced capacity to take up external ammonia, compared with anemones not recently associated with a shrimp, and their tissues contained more zooxanthellae. Benthic invertebrates represent a potentially important and unexplored source of regenerated nitrogen on coral reefs.