Abstract
Cycloclypeus carpenteri is the largest extant benthic foraminifer, dwelling in the deep euphotic zone (a water depth between 60 and 130 m) of the warm oligotrophic Indo-West Pacific. This foraminifer harbors diatom endosymbionts and the foraminifer-microalgal association acts like a holobiont. To verify that light is an important limiting factor controlling the vertical (depth) distribution of living Cycloclypeus holobionts, their physiological responses to light intensity were examined by short-term metabolic measurements and long-term incubations. Net oxygen production (OP) rates measured under different light levels using an oxygen microelectrode indicate that Cycloclypeus holobionts are daily net primary producers adapted to low light levels, with slight photoinhibition (reduced net OP rates relative to a light-saturated rate) over 100 µmol photons m−2 s−1. Long-term growth increments of asexually reproduced juveniles incubated for two months at different light levels ranging from 0 to 100 µmol photons m−2 s−1 show that Cycloclypeus holobionts are adapted to a low light level (∼5 µmol photons m−2 s−1), but can be acclimatized to a certain low light ranges (<50 µmol photons m−2 s−1). These experimental results confirm that light is an important environmental gradient affecting the vertical distribution of Cycloclypeus holobionts.
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Acknowledgments
This work was partly supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (No. JP17740341). Samples used in this study were provided from those collected during the RN10 cruise (T/S Nagasaki-Maru) and the GH10 cruise (R/V Hakurei-Maru). We thank the onboard scientists and the crew members for their support during the cruise. We also thank the Center for Research Advancement and Collaboration, University of the Ryukyus for the use of a microbalance and a spectrophotometer. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1612-6.
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Fujita, K., Kanda, Y. & Hosono, T. Light is an Important Limiting Factor for the Vertical Distribution of the Largest Extant Benthic Foraminifer Cycloclypeus carpenteri. J. Earth Sci. 33, 1460–1468 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1612-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-022-1612-6