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The potential of azooxanthellate poriferan hosts to assess the fundamental and realized Symbiodinium niche: evaluating a novel method to initiate Symbiodinium associations

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Abstract

On coral reefs, Symbiodinium spp. are found in most cnidarian species, but reside in only a small number of sponge species. Of the sponges that do harbor Symbiodinium, most are found in the family Clionaidae, which represents a minor fraction of the poriferan diversity on a reef. Our goal was to determine whether Symbiodinium can be taken up by sponge hosts that do not typically harbor these algal symbionts, and then to follow the fate of any Symbiodinium that enter the intracellular space. We used the filter-feeding capacity of sponges to initiate intracellular interactions between sponge-specialist clade G Symbiodinium and six sponge species that do not associate with Symbiodinium. Using a pulse-chase experimental design, we determined that all of the species we examined captured Symbiodinium, and undamaged intracellular algae were found up to 1 h after inoculation. In a longer-term experiment, Symbiodinium populations in Amphimedon erina persisted in sponge cells for at least 5 d post-inoculation. While no evidence of digestion was detected, the population decreased exponentially after inoculation. We contrast these data with the characteristics of symbiont acquisition and establishment in Cliona varians, which normally harbors Symbiodinium. Explants from experimentally derived aposymbiotic sponges were placed in the field where they acquired Symbiodinium from ambient sources (i.e., we did not inoculate them as in the pulse-chase experiments). We began to detect Symbiodinium cells in C. varians after 12 d, and the algal population increased exponentially until densities approached those typically found in this host (after ~128 d). We discuss the implications of this work in light of growing interest in the evolution of specificity between hosts and symbionts, and the fundamental and realized niche of Symbiodinium.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grants 0647119 and 0829763 to MH. The University of Richmond provided summer stipends to BS and SF. We thank E. Poppell for the freeze-fracture electron micrograph in Fig. 4. C. Davis provided outstanding support for all facets of the microscopic work. All sampling was done with appropriate licenses in the State of Florida. Two anonymous reviewers provided useful feedback. The work was conducted at the Mote Tropical Research Laboratory in Summerland Key, Florida.

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  1. Brian Strehlow

    Present address: Centre for Microscopy Characterisation and Analysis, Oceans Institute, School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 25 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, USA

  2. Sarah Friday

    Present address: College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

  3. Mark McCauley

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, 23173, USA

    Brian Strehlow, Sarah Friday, Mark McCauley & Malcolm Hill

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  1. Brian Strehlow
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Strehlow, B., Friday, S., McCauley, M. et al. The potential of azooxanthellate poriferan hosts to assess the fundamental and realized Symbiodinium niche: evaluating a novel method to initiate Symbiodinium associations. Coral Reefs 35, 1201–1212 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1465-5

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