terminology

FAUTIN DAPHNE G fautin at falcon.cc.ku.edu
Sun Nov 4 12:59:36 EST 2001


I know of no single term to describe this but I would be pleased to learn
of one.  While we are on the subject, though, it might be good to clarify  
the terms that do exist.  Here are how I understand them.

ZOOXANTHELLATE refers to a species? an individual? (or either?) that
contains zooxanthellae.  In 1985, Schuhmacher and Zibrowius (Coral Reefs
4:1-9) distinguished between zooxanthellate and hermatypic, which had
until then been used more or less interchangeably (so read the earlier
literature with that in mind).  

AZOOXANTHELLATE, then, is the opposite -- a species/individual/either
lacking zooxanthellae.

When there is no chance of confusion with other symbioses, what is meant
by "zooxanthellate" may be termed "SYMBIOTIC," and "azooxanthellate"
"ASYMBIOTIC."  This is how Anne uses the terms in her question.

APOSYMBIOTIC refers to an individual (including a colony) that has lost
its symbionts.  Thus a bleached polyp would be termed aposymbiotic, but a
newly-settled polyp of a species in which the zooxanthellae are acquired
from the environment that has not yet obtained algae would not be.  I
increasingly see the term "aposymbiotic" used in the sense I define above
as "asymbiotic."


Daphne Fautin

On Sun, 4 Nov 2001, Anne Cohen wrote:

> Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2001 09:13:13 -0800
> From: Anne Cohen <acohen at whoi.edu>
> To: "coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov" <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> Subject: terminology
> 
> Hello: I am wondering if there is a  term in use in the biology
> community  that describes coral species having both symbiotic and
> asymbiotic colonies i.e. a single species that occurs naturally and
> healthily in both "states";
> Your ideas are appreciated,
> Anne.
> 
> 
> 
> .....................................
> Dr A.L. Cohen
> Geology and Geophysics
> ms#23 Clark BLDG
> Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
> Woods Hole MA 02543



Daphne G. Fautin
Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Curator, Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center
Haworth Hall
University of Kansas
1200 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7534  USA

telephone 1-785-864-3062
fax 1-785-864-5321
for e-mail, please use fautin at ku.edu

lab web page: www.nhm.ku.edu/~inverts

direct to database of hexacorals, including sea anemones, released
                           12 July 2001 
           *** http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hexacoral/Biodata/ ***


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