Journal article

The promiscuous larvae: flexibility in the establishment of symbiosis in corals

VR Cumbo, AH Baird, MJH van Oppen

CORAL REEFS | SPRINGER | Published : 2013

Abstract

Coral reefs thrive in part because of the symbiotic partnership between corals and Symbiodinium. While this partnership is one of the keys to the success of coral reef ecosystems, surprisingly little is known about many aspects of coral symbiosis, in particular the establishment and development of symbiosis in host species that acquire symbionts anew in each generation. More specifically, the point at which symbiosis is established (i. e., larva vs. juvenile) remains uncertain, as does the source of free-living Symbiodinium in the environment. In addition, the capacity of host and symbiont to form novel combinations is unknown. To explore patterns of initial association between host and symb..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

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Funding Acknowledgements

This research was funded by AIMS@JCU and the Lerner-Gray Memorial Fund of the American Museum of Natural History. We thank E. Graham, P. Cetina-Heredia, R. Littman and J. van Dam for assistance with this experiment, P. J. Edmunds and two anonymous reviewers for comments on the manuscript.