Example Of Co-Evolved Relationship Of Dinoflagellates And Reef-Building Corals Research Paper

The coevolution relationship closest style is the symbiosis that means living together. Microbes form symbiotic relationships with animals and plants. These relationships can be complex and frequently persist throughout times of evolution as organisms evolve in tandem. There are different types of symbiotic relationship. Facultative symbionts; it means that both partners can live differently or independently. The obligative symbionts, it means that one partner cannot survive without the other. In obligative symbionts, one of the organisms provides essential nutrients that the other organism is unable to manufacturing. The relationship between corals and their microalgal symbionts is a unique obligative symbiotic (Simon et al. 248).
In the oceans, many coral reefs have dinoflagellates living inside the corals’ tissues. The dinoflagellates carry on photosynthesizing, as long as they have nutrients and light. However, the products of photosynthesis are not kept for themselves. They release nearly all of it into the tissues of the coral and then coral uses this energy as food. The food has enough energy to build a substantial amount of calcium carbonate in the form of a cup-shaped skeleton that helps to establish a healthy coral colony and supports the coral animal. Therefore, the coral colony creates a very robust structure that can survive the waves’ force in shallow waters. Coral reefs are very plentiful in tropical clear warm waters of the world. The corals absorb the photosynthetic products and producing wastes. The wastes are not released into sea-water till the dinoflagellate extracts the nutrients from them such as phosphate and nitrate. These nutrients are then re-cycled between coral and dinoflagellates to keep photosynthesis going. The oxygen released is used by the coral for respiration to produce carbon dioxide that is absorbed by the dinoflagellates in their photosynthesis (Simon, Allemand, and Weis 252).
The coral have stinging cells that protect dinoflagellates, and they also arrange their anatomy to enable them have light. The dinoflagellates get nutrients, light, and protection but give almost all their production from photosynthesis. The dinoflagellates have no alternative but to join symbiotic relationship to survive. The coral reef symbiosis occurs where there is practically no food in the seawater. If nutrients were available, then the dinoflagellates would abandon the coral and make a living for themselves in the water (Simon et al. 248).
The successful conditions for a reef include warm, shallow, clear and nutrient-poor tropical water. The coral keep its surface clear of sand and other sediment, to enable light shine on its dinoflagellates. They continuously produce mucus that catches the sediment and sweeps it off the coral surface. The mucus is polysaccharide, which is a good source of food for small creatures with little nutrients. Many small reef creatures consume mucus to provide food for other animals, and so on. At the coral reef community is a very rich, diverse, set of organisms, all dependent on the original coral symbiosis (Simon, Allemand, and Weis 252).
In conclusion, coral and their microalgal lead a symbiotic relationship. Researchers have found that dinoflagellates are capable of surviving outside their coral host. Corals secrete chemical that attract and signal symbionts and once they colonize them, traps them forever. As climate changes, earths’ temperature increases and ocean acidity also increases, thus reducing calcium carbonates structure of coral and other marine organisms that lead to coral bleaching. Coral bleaching are slowly damaging the coral reefs and their vibrant ecological communities and a solution to protect coral reefs from further damage should be developed.

Works Cited

Simon A. Levin, Stephen R. Carpenter, H. Charles J. Godfray, Ann P. Kinzig, Michel Loreau, Jonathan B. Losos, Brian Walker, David S. Wilcove. The Princeton Guide to Ecology. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009.
Simon K. Davy, Denis Allemand and Virginia M. Weis. "Reef corals: Mutualistic symbioses adapted to nutrient-poor enviornments." Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 76.2 (2012): 229-261.