Evidence of light-induced phenotypic plasticity in zoanthids: editorial comment on the feature article by Wei et al.

Hill, Ross

doi:10.1007/s00227-013-2225-5

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 7 publications

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“…Moreover, zoantharians have been responsible for phase shifts in coral reefs Cruz et al 2015), which are one of the most conspicuous effects of the 'coral reef crisis' (Done 1999;Hughes et al 2010). However, research on zoantharian ecology has been scarce as compared with other cnidarian groups (Hill 2013). The prevalence of zoantharian species hosting photosynthetic symbionts in reef flats and in wide range of tidal heights (Sebens 1982;Rabelo et al 2015) suggests the presence of photobiological processes well prepared to deal with environmental variability associated with tidal cycles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photobiology of the zoanthid Zoanthus sociatus in intertidal and subtidal habitats

Leal

Cruz

Mendes

et al. 2016

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Intertidal environments are boundaries between marine and terrestrial ecosystems that are subject to rapid fluctuations across tidal cycles. This study investigates, for the first time, the photobiology of symbiotic zoanthids inhabiting different tidal environments: subtidal, intertidal pools and intertidal areas exposed to air during low tide. More specifically, we assessed the photochemical efficiency, Symbiodinium density and photosynthetic pigments profile of Zoanthus sociatus during low tide. Photochemical efficiency was lower and cell density higher in air exposed zoanthids. The profile of photosynthetic pigments also varied significantly among tidal habitats, particularly photoprotective pigments such as dinoxanthin and diadinoxanthin. Differences were also observed for the pigment content per cell, but the proportion of particular pigments (peridinin/chlorophyll-a and diatoxanthinþdiadinoxanthin/chlorophyll-a) remained stable. Results suggest that aerial exposure conditions induce reversible downregulation of photochemical processes but no photophysiological impairment or bleaching. These findings provide a baseline for future studies addressing the prevalence of these overlooked cnidarians in environmentally dynamic reef flats.

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