Reef-building corals farm and feed on their photosynthetic symbionts

Jörg Wiedenmann (), Cecilia D’Angelo, M. Loreto Mardones, Shona Moore, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Bastian Hambach, Paul A. Wilson, James Vanstone, Gal Eyal, Or Ben-Zvi, Yossi Loya and Amatzia Genin
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Jörg Wiedenmann: University of Southampton
Cecilia D’Angelo: University of Southampton
M. Loreto Mardones: University of Southampton
Shona Moore: University of Southampton
Cassandra E. Benkwitt: Lancaster University
Nicholas A. J. Graham: Lancaster University
Bastian Hambach: University of Southampton
Paul A. Wilson: University of Southampton
James Vanstone: University of Southampton
Gal Eyal: Bar Ilan University
Or Ben-Zvi: University of California, San Diego
Yossi Loya: Tel Aviv University
Amatzia Genin: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Nature, 2023, vol. 620, issue 7976, 1018-1024

Abstract: Abstract Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems that thrive in nutrient-poor waters, a phenomenon frequently referred to as the Darwin paradox1. The energy demand of coral animal hosts can often be fully met by the excess production of carbon-rich photosynthates by their algal symbionts2,3. However, the understanding of mechanisms that enable corals to acquire the vital nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from their symbionts is incomplete4–9. Here we show, through a series of long-term experiments, that the uptake of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus by the symbionts alone is sufficient to sustain rapid coral growth. Next, considering the nitrogen and phosphorus budgets of host and symbionts, we identify that these nutrients are gathered through symbiont ‘farming’ and are translocated to the host by digestion of excess symbiont cells. Finally, we use a large-scale natural experiment in which seabirds fertilize some reefs but not others, to show that the efficient utilization of dissolved inorganic nutrients by symbiotic corals established in our laboratory experiments has the potential to enhance coral growth in the wild at the ecosystem level. Feeding on symbionts enables coral animals to tap into an important nutrient pool and helps to explain the evolutionary and ecological success of symbiotic corals in nutrient-limited waters.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06442-5

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