Influence of coral mucus on microbial food chain

本研究探讨了造礁石珊瑚产生的有机物质（珊瑚粘液）对珊瑚礁生态系统中微生物和微生物食物链的影响。与不含粘液的过滤海水相比，含珊瑚粘液的过滤海水中异养细菌（以下简称细菌）的丰度显著增加。同时，溶解性有机物（DOM）和溶解性无机磷酸盐（DIP）的浓度显着降低的海水粘液。这些结果表明，细菌消耗DOC和DIP为它们的生长。这项研究亦显示，在珊瑚复盖率较高的地点，微生物（细菌及鞭毛虫）的浓度较高，可能是由于珊瑚释放的有机物较多。因此，珊瑚粘液可能会增强珊瑚礁生态系统中微生物食物链（DOM ->细菌->鞭毛虫）中的碳流。

This study examined the effect of organic matter produced by scleractinian corals (coral mucus) on microbes and microbial food chain in coral reef ecosystems. The abundance of heterotrophic bacteria (hereafter bacteria) significantly increased in the filtered seawater with coral mucus compared to that without mucus. Meanwhile, the concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) decreased significantly in the seawater with mucus. These results suggest that the bacteria consumed DOC and DIP for their growth. This study also showed that a higher concentration of microbes (bacteria and flagellates) was observed in the higher coral coverage site, probably due to the higher organic matter released by corals. Therefore, coral mucus may enhance carbon flow in the microbial food chain (DOM -> bacteria -> flagellates) in reef ecosystems.