title: Self-recognition in corals facilitates deep-sea habitat engineering.
abstract: The ability of coral reefs to engineer complex three-dimensional habitats is central to their success and the rich biodiversity they support. In tropical reefs, encrusting coralline algae bind together substrates and dead coral framework to make continuous reef structures, but beyond the photic zone, the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa also forms large biogenic reefs, facilitated by skeletal fusion. Skeletal fusion in tropical corals can occur in closely related or juvenile individuals as a result of non-aggressive skeletal overgrowth or allogeneic tissue fusion, but contact reactions in many species result in mortality if there is no 'self-recognition' on a broad species level. This study reveals areas of 'flawless' skeletal fusion in Lophelia pertusa, potentially facilitated by allogeneic tissue fusion, are identified as having small aragonitic crystals or low levels of crystal organisation, and strong molecular bonding. Regardless of the mechanism, the recognition of 'self' between adjacent L. pertusa colonies leads to no observable mortality, facilitates ecosystem engineering and reduces aggression-related energetic expenditure in an environment where energy conservation is crucial. The potential for self-recognition at a species level, and subsequent skeletal fusion in framework-forming cold-water corals is an important first step in understanding their significance as ecological engineers in deep-seas worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, Scotland.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hennige
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, WV 25430, USA.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, 24105, Germany.
authors.forename: A U
authors.initials: AU
authors.lastname: Form
authors.affiliation: GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, 24105, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Büscher
authors.affiliation: School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kamenos
authors.affiliation: 1] Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, Scotland [2] Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, PA37 1QA, Scotland [3] University of North Carolina Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D009792:Oceans and Seas