Ingestion and incorporation of cora mucus aggregates by a gorgonian soft coral
- 1 January 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Inter-Research Science Center in Marine Ecology Progress Series
- Vol. 17 (2), 193-199
- https://doi.org/10.3354/meps017193
Abstract
Mucus produced by reef corals is a potential energy source for reef organisms. Ingestion and incorporation of mucus aggregates by the gorgonian soft coral Pseudoplexaura porosa was examined using stain and isotope techniques. P. porosa was fed mucus particles stained with neutral red. All ingested food was cleared from the gut in 3-4 h. Gorgonians fed 14C-labeled mucus for 10 min, ingested a mean of 0.91 .mu.g dry weight mucus mg-1 gorgonian, and incorporated 22% of the ingested mucus. The amount of mucus incorporated in these experiments is sufficient to meet the energy needs of P. porosa.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
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