Nutrient Limitation in the Symbiotic Association between Zooxanthellae and Reef-building Corals: The Experimental Design

Abstract

The question of nutrient limitation and of its regulatory effect on population densities of zooxanthellae in hospice was studied by an international team of researchers during an intensive 5-day workshop. Participants studied colonies of two coral species that were preincubated over different time periods ranging from 0 to 8 weeks under four different nutrient concentrations. A broad spectrum of parameters was measured simultaneously at the molecular, cellular, and colony levels of organization using a variety of techniques. This paper describes the overall experimental design.