TY - JOUR
T1 - In situ feeding and element removal in the symbiont-bearing sponge Theonella swinhoei
T2 - Bulk DOC is the major source for carbon
AU - Yahel, Gitai
AU - Sharp, Jonathan H.
AU - Marie, Dominique
AU - Häse, Clivia
AU - Genin, Amatzia
PY - 2003/1
Y1 - 2003/1
N2 - The vast majority of organic matter in the world ocean is found in the dissolved pool. However, no evidence has been demonstrated for direct uptake of bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) by organisms other than bacteria and some invertebrate larvae. The total organic carbon (TOC) is 10-30% higher in coral reefs than in adjacent open waters. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) accounts for >90% of the TOC. Using a new in situ technique for clean sampling of the seawater inhaled and exhaled by benthic suspension feeders, we measured directly the removal of DOC in the symbiont-bearing reef sponge Theonella swinhoei. The sponge removed up to 26% (mean ± SD: 12% ± 8%) of the TOC (dissolved and particulate) from the water it filtered during a single passage through its filtration system. Most of the carbon gained by the sponge was from the dissolved pool (10 ± 7 μmol C L-1), an order of magnitude greater than the carbon gained from the total living cells (phytoplankton and bacteria) the sponge removed (2 ± 1 μmol C L-1). In T. swinhoei, over two-thirds of the sponge biomass consists of symbiotic bacteria, which likely play an important role in DOC uptake. Our findings indicate that the role of DOC in metazoan nutrition and the role of metazoans in DOC cycling may have been grossly underestimated.
AB - The vast majority of organic matter in the world ocean is found in the dissolved pool. However, no evidence has been demonstrated for direct uptake of bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) by organisms other than bacteria and some invertebrate larvae. The total organic carbon (TOC) is 10-30% higher in coral reefs than in adjacent open waters. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) accounts for >90% of the TOC. Using a new in situ technique for clean sampling of the seawater inhaled and exhaled by benthic suspension feeders, we measured directly the removal of DOC in the symbiont-bearing reef sponge Theonella swinhoei. The sponge removed up to 26% (mean ± SD: 12% ± 8%) of the TOC (dissolved and particulate) from the water it filtered during a single passage through its filtration system. Most of the carbon gained by the sponge was from the dissolved pool (10 ± 7 μmol C L-1), an order of magnitude greater than the carbon gained from the total living cells (phytoplankton and bacteria) the sponge removed (2 ± 1 μmol C L-1). In T. swinhoei, over two-thirds of the sponge biomass consists of symbiotic bacteria, which likely play an important role in DOC uptake. Our findings indicate that the role of DOC in metazoan nutrition and the role of metazoans in DOC cycling may have been grossly underestimated.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037247127&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4319/lo.2003.48.1.0141
DO - 10.4319/lo.2003.48.1.0141
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AN - SCOPUS:0037247127
SN - 0024-3590
VL - 48
SP - 141
EP - 149
JO - Limnology and Oceanography
JF - Limnology and Oceanography
IS - 1 I
ER -