title: Dispersal of Symbiodinium by the stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride.
abstract: Environmental reservoirs of zooxanthellae are essential for coral larvae settlement; understanding where they occur and how they are maintained is important for coral reef ecology. This study investigated the dispersal of Symbiodinium spp. by the stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride, which had high mean densities of viable and cultivable Symbiodinium (3207-8900 cells ml(-1)) in faeces. Clades A, B and G were detected using amplified chloroplast ribosomal sequences (cp23S-HVR), and corresponded with diet preferences of fish and the environmental Symbiodinium diversity of the region. Cells are constantly dispersed in the water column and deposited in the substrate at a local level (86 ± 17.8 m(2)), demonstrating that parrotfishes are vectors for short-distance dispersal of zooxanthellae. Such dispersal could constitute a key role in the maintenance of environmental Symbiodinium reservoirs.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas-Facultad de Ciencias, Laboratorio de Biología Molecular Marina-BIOMMAR, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castro-Sanguino
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003105:Colombia; D057894:Coral Reefs; D018742:DNA, Chloroplast / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011156:Population Density; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D018742:DNA, Chloroplast; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal