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Estimating photophysiological condition of endosymbiont-bearing Baculogypsina sphaerulata based on the holobiont color represented in CIE L*a*b* color space

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Abstract

Symbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifers (LBFs) are widely distributed around coral reefs. If the physiological responses of LBFs to environmental changes can be recognized at an individual level, LBFs could serve as highly accurate bioindicators. In this study, chlorophyll a, respiration, and photosynthesis of Baculogypsina sphaerulata individuals were measured, and whether these physiological traits could be estimated based on the color of the holobiont (foraminifera and the diatom symbionts) was examined. Chlorophyll a content was estimated using a* and b* values of holobiont color represented in CIE L*a*b* color space. Photosynthetic performance decreased significantly with increasing whiteness (L*). These results indicated chlorophyll content as well as photosynthetic performance of Baculogypsina could be directly estimated using the holobiont color. The increased whiteness in color and decreased photosynthetic performance were mainly observed under low-light environment, possibly indicating symbiotic algae were shrunk into the central part of the host shell due to prolonged exposure to adverse conditions.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Yoichi Ide and Mina Kinoshita (Ocean Planning Co., Ltd.) for their assistance in conducting field work and to Takashi Nakamura and Yoji Kanda for chrolophyll measurements. We wish to express our appreciation to three anonymous reviewers and Editor Sven Uthicke for their helpful comments to improve this manuscript. This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (17740341) and JST/JICA’s Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS, 0808918). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Takashi Hosono & Hajime Kayanne

  2. Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    Kazuhiko Fujita

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  1. Takashi Hosono
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Correspondence to Takashi Hosono.

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Communicated by S. Uthicke.

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Hosono, T., Fujita, K. & Kayanne, H. Estimating photophysiological condition of endosymbiont-bearing Baculogypsina sphaerulata based on the holobiont color represented in CIE L*a*b* color space. Mar Biol 159, 2663–2673 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2024-4

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