Wave-induced H2S flux sustains a chemoautotrophic symbiosis

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aut.researcherVopel, Kay Christian
dc.contributor.authorVopel, K
dc.contributor.authorThistle, D
dc.contributor.authorOtt, J
dc.contributor.authorBright, M
dc.contributor.authorRoy, H
dc.date.accessioned2011-07-14T07:43:14Z
dc.date.available2011-07-14T07:43:14Z
dc.date.copyright2005-01-01
dc.date.issued2005-01-01
dc.description.abstractSymbioses involving sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and invertebrate hosts require a source of reduced sulfur, a source of O-2, and transport mechanisms that ensure them a supply of both. We investigated these mechanisms using the symbiosis between the sessile ciliate Zoothamnium niveum (Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1831) and bacteria living on its surface. The stalked colonies of Z niveum grow on peat walls around the openings of centimeter-scale conduits created when mangrove rootlets decompose. Using in situ, time-series measurements with fast-responding amper-ometric microelectrodes, we found that the conduits were charged with H2S by diffusion from the decaying rootlets during periods of low boundary-layer flow speed. During these times, the feeding current of the zooids transported oxygenated seawater from outside the peat wall toward the ectobiotic bacteria. During periods of high flow speed, H2S-rich seawater from the conduits was drawn along the colonies and over the bacteria. We conclude that this symbiosis exploits a combination of two transport mechanisms: (1) venting of H2S-rich seawater due to pulsating boundary-layer current over ciliate groups and (2) the continuous and rapid feeding current generated by the host's cilia. This discovery raises the possibility that other systems in which pockets of decay are exposed to pulsating flow could support similar symbioses.
dc.identifier.citationLimnology and Oceanography, vol.50(1), pp.128-133
dc.identifier.issn0024-3590
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10292/1466
dc.languageEN
dc.publisherAmerican Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO)
dc.relation.urihttp://www.aslo.org/lo/toc/vol_50/issue_1/0128.pdf
dc.rights© 2005 by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (please see Citation and Publisher’s Version). Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of Limnology and Oceanography for personal or educational use is hereby granted without fee.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.subjectZoothamnium-niveum hemprich
dc.subject1838 Oligohymenophora
dc.subjectBachteria
dc.subjectCiliate
dc.subjectPeritrichida
dc.subjectMicrosensor
dc.subjectEhrenberg
dc.subjectFlow
dc.titleWave-induced H2S flux sustains a chemoautotrophic symbiosis
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.organisational-data/AUT
pubs.organisational-data/AUT/Health & Environmental Science
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