Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Larvae Can Feed on Organic Matter Released from Corals
| Autor: | Haruko Kurihara, Nobuyuki Nakatomi, Jennifer E. Smith, Ken Okaji, Ryota Nakajima, Michael D. Fox |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Coral COTS Starfish 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Japan Phytoplankton Organic matter lcsh:QH301-705.5 Nature and Landscape Conservation Isotope analysis food limitation chemistry.chemical_classification isotope analysis geography geography.geographical_feature_category Ecology biology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Ecological Modeling fungi Acanthaster Coral reef biology.organism_classification Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Crown-of-thorns starfish chemistry lcsh:Biology (General) coral reefs coral mucus |
| Zdroj: | Diversity, Vol 8, Iss 4, p 18 (2016) |
| ISSN: | 1424-2818 |
| Popis: | Previous studies have suggested that Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COTS) larvae may be able to survive in the absence of abundant phytoplankton resources suggesting that they may be able to utilize alternative food sources. Here, we tested the hypothesis that COTS larvae are able to feed on coral-derived organic matter using labeled stable isotope tracers (13C and 15N). Our results show that coral-derived organic matter (coral mucus and associated microorganisms) can be assimilated by COTS larvae and may be an important alternative or additional food resource for COTS larvae through periods of low phytoplankton biomass. This additional food resource could potentially facilitate COTS outbreaks by reducing resource limitation. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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