Hot off the presses: Amino Acid Compound Specific #Isotope Analysis (#AACSIA) to understand #coral nutrition. We show corals are reliant on symbiont-derived carbon and nitrogen for AA. Flexible nutrition? Not so much. @GatesCoralLab @himb_soest bit.ly/3uxZOe2 Amino acids in the AACSIA terminology are essential (from diets) or non-essential (synthesized) for carbon, and either trophic (change with feeding) or source (reflect origins) for nitrogen. At the time of our experiment no one had tested C and N AACSIA in corals.

Excited to share our recent work (& last chapter of my PhD) in #ISMEJ on #Symbiodiniaceae functional diversity, niche partitioning & isotopes in #corals across a rapid light-attenuation gradient (a thread..) @GatesCoralLab @himb_soest @uhmanoa @DonahueLab go.nature.com/2N1FDSm @GatesCoralLab @himb_soest @uhmanoa @DonahueLab Corals depend on their symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) for food, but #heterotrophy is also important--especially during periods of stress and low autotrophy (low light). But these symbionts show differences in autotrophic capacity and some (#Durusidinium spp.) may be opportunistic.