Results of the 1991 United States-Israel Workshop, "Nutrient Limitations in the Symbiotic Association between Zooxanthellae and Reef-building Corals"

Abstract

An intensive research effort was organized as a 1-week workshop with the specific goal of resolving difficult questions concerning whether or not zooxanthellae are nutrient limited within host corals. Over 30 scientists participated. Participants applied various techniques to the same set of corals, which had been preincubated under different nutrient regimes for various time periods. Interdisciplinary research projects of this scale and intensity have rarely been attempted by coral reef biologists, yet the evidence developed during the workshop demonstrates the usefulness of this approach. This was a true "workshop" rather than a "talk-shop" and produced important research results while allowing participants to compare research methods and discuss various theories and research philosophies. Important new data were developed. Apparent contradictions were resolved through development of models that consider the dynamics of carbon fixation relative to nutrient availability.