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Zooxanthellae (/ ˌ z oʊ ə z æ n ˈ θ ɛ l iː /; sg. zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs.
After the zooxanthellae leaves the coral, the coral structures are often taken over by algae due to their ability to outcompete the zooxanthella since they need less resources to survive. [156] There is little evidence of competition between zooxanthellae and algae, but in the absence of zooxanthellae the algae thrives on the coral structures ...
Zoanthids feed both by photosynthesis, aided by the zooxanthellae they contain, and by capturing plankton and particulate matter. Although photosynthesis aids in their nutrition, even species that do not actively capture plankton cannot live through photosynthesis alone. [ 24 ]
Bleaching occurs when the zooxanthellae and coralline algae leave the coral skeleton behind due to stresses in the water. This causes the coral to lose its colour because the previous organisms sustained on the coral skeleton vacate, leaving a white skeleton. The bleached coral can no longer complete photosynthesis, and so it slowly dies.
SST coupled with high irradiance (light intensity), triggers the loss of zooxanthellae, a symbiotic single cell algae that gives the coral its color and the coral's dinoflagellate pigmentation, which turns the coral white when it is expelled, which can kill the coral. Zooxanthellae provide up to 90% of their hosts' energy supply. [56]
If sea water temperatures rise, conditions may becomes stressful for the corals, and they may expel their zooxanthellae. This process is known as coral bleaching as, without their symbionts, the corals are white. [2] Durusdinium trenchii is a stress-tolerant species, a generalist able to form mutualistic relationships with many species of coral ...
Symbiodiniaceae is a family of marine dinoflagellates notable for their symbiotic associations with reef-building corals, [1] sea anemones, [2] jellyfish, [3] marine sponges, [4] giant clams, [5] acoel flatworms, [6] and other marine invertebrates.
Symbiodinium reach high cell densities through prolific mitotic division in the endodermal tissues of many shallow tropical and sub-tropical cnidarians.This is a SEM of a freeze-fractured internal mesentery from a reef coral polyp (Porites porites) that shows the distribution and density of symbiont cells.