Download Tribulations for symbiosis in coral reefs and the potomac river valley

TRIBULATIONS FOR
SYMBIOSIS IN CORAL REEFS
AND THE POTOMAC RIVER
VALLEY
Julia Welch
What do the coral reefs and PRV have
in common?
- Both have organisms that participate in some
sort of symbiosis.
- Both are being changed by anthropocentric
activities.
- Both have seen a decline in overall health in
the past few decades especially.
Examples of Symbiosis in Coral
Reefs….
The red snapping shrimp and the ringed
anenome are one example of mutualism.
http://www.cs.brown.edu/~twd/fish/St.Vincent/pages/Red%20Snap
ping%20Shrimp%202.htm
http://www.meerwasserlexikon.de/tiere/1020_Bartholomea_annulata.htm
“With fronds like these, who needs anenomes?”
- Marlin the clownfish
What will happen to NEMO?!?!
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Actually the clownfish do need the anenomes!
(Remember the jellyfish race in the movie….)
Anenomes will benefit from the clownfish because
the clownfish will bring back scraps and possibly
lure larger prey to the anenome where it will be
stung.
The anenome on the other hand will protect the
clownfish, which develops a mucus to prevent it from
being stung by the anenome.
Mutualism at its finest
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Corals on the other hand are reliant on dinoflagellates in the
genus Symbiodinum otherwise known as zooanthellae.
These zooanthellae need the corals to protect them and also
for compounds they need for photosynthesis.
“In return, the algae produce oxygen and help the coral to
remove wastes. Most importantly, zooxanthellae supply the
coral with glucose, glycerol, and amino acids, which are the
products of photosynthesis. The coral uses these products to
make proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, and produce calcium
carbonate” – (NOAA, 2010).
Look at all the pretty colors!!!!
So where is the problem?
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When corals become physically stressed they will
expel the zooanthellae from their polyps and the
coral will become a bleached white.
If the coral does not become a host for
zooanthellae for a long period it will die.
Anthropocentric effects on coral
reefs?

Pollution – nutrient runoff from the mainland can
increase nutrients in the water and cause algal
blooms that cover and destroy the corals.
 Pesticides,
oil, and sediment can also be included in
runoff from the mainland.
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Detrimental fishing techniques – cyanide fishing,
blast fishing, deep water trawling
Harvesting of coral for jewelry and human use
Ships that become grounded
Oil spills during coral spawning.
Example of symbiosis in PRV….

Sea nettles and oyster spat.
 Sea
nettles (Chrysaora auinquecirrha) are common in
the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months.
 During oyster growth the oyster larvae spend about
two weeks floating in the Bay before they settle onto a
place where they mature.
 Sea nettles can catch the oyster larvae, but they spit
them back out undigested and unharmed. The comb
jelly however will eat the larvae immediately.
 The sea nettles favorite food is comb jellies. So during
the summer months it brings the comb jellies population
down to almost 0.
Sea Nettle abundance
http://www.eco-check.org/summerreview/chesapeake/2009/indicators/sea_nettles/
Why did the sea nettles die off so
fast?
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While there was a spike of sea nettles in late
august the scientists noticed there numbers drop off
extremely quickly. This was before the usual time
when the water drops below their optimum
temperature.
It was noticed that all the sea nettles were losing
their oral arms and overall shrinking in diameter
during the last two weeks they were there before
they disappeared completely.
The effect of anoxic water?
Anoxia overall was higher than the
average. However, hypoxic conditions
were down on average in 2009.
What does this mean for our water quality?
How bad was the water?
Anthropocentric effects?
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Pollution – nutrient runoff from the mainland can increase
nutrients in the water and cause algal blooms that cover and
destroy the existing underwater vegetation.
 Pesticides, oil, and sediment can also be included in runoff
from the mainland.
Detrimental oyster collecting techniques, blast fishing, deep
water trawling
Harvesting of oysters for human consumption
Ships that come into port bringing invasive species and
diseases.
Oil spills during spawning.
WAIT! Why do these sound familiar?????
References
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Newell, R.I. Ecological changes in Chesapeake Bay: Are They the Result of Overharvesting the American Oyster, Crassostrea virginica?
“http://web.vims.edu/GreyLit/crc129.pdf?svr=www”
NOAA and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Chesapeake EcoCheck. Assessing and Forcasting Ecosystem Status. http://www.ecocheck.org/summerreview/chesapeake/2009/indicators/sea_nettles/, 2009
Breitburg, D.L, Loher, T. Pacey, C.A., Gerstein, A. Varying effects of Low Dissolved Oxygen on Trophic Interactions in an Estuarine Food Web. Ecological Mongraphs,
Vol. 67, No.4, pp. 489-507. 1997.
Silliman, B.R., Layman, C.A., Altieri, A.H., Symbiosis between an Alpheid Shrimp and a Xanthoid Crab in Salt Marshes of Mid-Atlantic States, U.S.A.. Journal of
Crustacean Biology, Vol. 23, No.4, pp. 876-879. 2003.
Mansueti, R. Symbiotic Behavior between Small Fishes and Jellyfishes, with New Data on That between the Stromateid, Peprilus alepidotus, and the Scyphomedusa,
Chrysaora quinquecirrha. Copeia, Vol 1963, No. 1, pp. 40-80. 1963.
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NOAA. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral09_humanthreats.html, 2010.
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NOAA. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral02_zooxanthellae.html, 2010.
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Tan, L.W., Ng, P.K. A Guide to Seashore Life. Singapore Science Centre. http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/265.htm. 2010
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Purcell, J. E. Jellyfish in Chesapeake bay and Nearby Waters. http://www.intercom.net/local/shore_journal/jp010716.html.
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Knowlton, N. and Rohwer, F. Multispecies Mutualisms on Coral Reefs: The Host as a Habitat. The American Naturalist. Vol. 162, No.4, pp. S51-S62. 2003.