Dissolved inorganic nitrogen flux in symbiotic and nonsymbiotic medusae1

1982/09/01 by L. Muscatine, R. E. Marian · 1 voice · 8 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology #Marine Toxins and Detection Methods

paper · doi:10.4319/lo.1982.27.5.0910

openalex publication_date 1982/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26

Abstract

Symbiotic Mastigias from Eil Malk Jellyfish Lake and Palau lagoon take up and retain ammonium during both day and night. Uptake is due to symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae). Nitrate is not taken up, and is barely detectable in the environment. Nonsymbiotic Aurelia in the same lake excrete rather than take up ammonium. Mastigias migrates vertically repeatedly at night, periodically visiting the nutrient‐rich chemocline at about 15 m where, together with that taken up at ambient concentrations, the animals may take up enough ammonium to satisfy the total daily nitrogen requirement of their symbiotic algae. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that repeated vertical migration by Mastigias is a behavioral adaptation in the animal that facilitates nutrient acquisition by its algal symbionts.

Citations

• Determination of nitrate in sea water by cadmium-copper reduction to nitrite
• Reef Corals: Mutualistic Symbioses Adapted to Nutrient-Poor Environments
• The Cell Biology of Plant-Animal Symbiosis

Cited by

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• The physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a stratified, saline, sulfide lake in Palau1
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• Jellyfish swarms, tourists, and the Christ-child
• Five new subspecies of Mastigias (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae: Mastigiidae) from marine lakes, Palau, Micronesia

Discussions

• At night the spotted jellies switch from horizontal to vertical migration, swimming down to the low-oxygen chemocline (deeper water with more dissolved nutrients) and back up repeatedly throughout the [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

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