Benefit of pulsation in soft corals
Open accessAbstract
Soft corals of the family Xeniidae exhibit a unique, rhythmic pulsation of their tentacles (Movie S1), first noted by Lamarck nearly 200 y ago. However, the adaptive benefit of this perpetual, energetically costly motion is poorly understood. Using in situ underwater particle image velocimetry, we found that the pulsation motions thrust water upward and enhance mixing across the coral-water boundary layer. The induced upward motion effectively prevents refiltration of water by neighboring polyps, while the intensification of mixing, together with the upward flow, greatly enhances the coral's photosynthesis. A series of controlled laboratory experiments with the common xeniid coral Heteroxenia fuscescens showed that the net photosynthesis rate during pulsation was up to an order of magnitude higher than during the coral's resting, nonpulsating state. This enhancement diminished when the concentration of oxygen in the ambient water was artificially raised, indicating that the enhancement of photosynthesis was due to a greater efflux of oxygen from the coral tissues. By lowering the internal oxygen concentration, pulsation alleviates the problem of reduced affinity of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (RuBisCO) to CO2 under conditions of high oxygen concentrations. The photosynthesis-respiration ratio of the pulsating H. fuscescens was markedly higher than the ratios reported for nonpulsating soft and stony corals. Although pulsation is commonly used for locomotion and filtration in marine mobile animals, its occurrence in sessile (bottom-attached) species is limited to members of the ancient phylum Cnidaria, where it is used to accelerate water and enhance physiological processes.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
A sleep-like state may not be specific to Cassiopea; other cnidarians may also exhibit it.
“Although future studies are required to test whether other cnidarians sleep, field studies showing behavioral quiescence, diel vertical migration, and swimming speeds that vary with diel period [21,22,23,37] suggest that a sleep-like state may not be specific to Cassiopea.”
From The Jellyfish Cassiopea Exhibits a Sleep-like State (2017) · cites this paper as [21]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
A tissue-engineered jellyfish with biomimetic propulsion
Nawroth, J. C., Lee, H., Feinberg, A. W., Ripplinger, C. M., McCain, M. L., Grosberg, A., Dabiri, J. O., & Parker, K. K. (2012) · Nature Biotechnology · doi:10.1038/nbt.2269 · Cited by 647 · see citing works
Kühl, M., Cohen, Y., Dalsgaard, T., Jørgensen, B. B., & Revsbech, N. P. (1995) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps117159 · Cited by 561 · see citing works
Al‐Horani, F. A., Al-Moghrabi, S. M., & de Beer, D. (2002) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/s00227-002-0981-8 · Cited by 540 · see citing works
Fabricius, K., & Alderslade, P. (2001) · Cited by 435 · see citing works
Schneider, K., & Erez, J. (2006) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2006.51.3.1284 · Cited by 346 · see citing works
ROLE OF SYMBIOTIC ALGAE (ZOOXANTHELLAE) IN CORAL CALCIFICATION
Pearse, V. B., & MUSCATINE, L. (1971) · Biological Bulletin · doi:10.2307/1540123 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Ferrier‐Pagès, C., Gattuso, J., Dallot, S., et al. (2000) · Coral Reefs · doi:10.1007/s003380000078 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Extreme Diel Fluctuations of Oxygen in Diffusive Boundary Layers Surrounding Stony Corals
Shashar, N., Cohen, Y., & Loya, Y. (1993) · Biological Bulletin · doi:10.2307/1542485 · Cited by 245 · see citing works
Effect of water motion on coral photosynthesis and calcification
Dennison, W. C., & Barnes, D. (1988) · Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology · doi:10.1016/0022-0981(88)90190-6 · Cited by 231 · see citing works
Mass, T., Genin, A., Shavit, U., Grinstein, M., & Tchernov, D. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0912348107 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
Self-citationIn situ measurements of flow effects on primary production and dark respiration in reef corals
Patterson, M. R., Sebens, K. P., & OLSON, R. R. (1991) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.1991.36.5.0936 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Koehl, M. A. R., & Alberte, R. S. (1988) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/bf02112137 · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Patterns in the distribution of soft corals across the central Great Barrier Reef
Dinesen, Z. D. (1983) · Coral Reefs · doi:10.1007/bf00304420 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Boundary layer turbulence and flow structure over a fringing coral reef
Reidenbach, M. A., Monismith, S. G., Koseff, J. R., et al. (2006) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2006.51.5.1956 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Photoacclimation of Stylophora pistillata to light extremes: metabolism and calcification
Mass, T., Einbinder, S., Brokovich, E., et al. (2007) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps334093 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Self-citationA physical derivation of nutrient-uptake rates in coral reefs: effects of roughness and waves
Hearn, C., Atkinson, M. J., & Falter, J. L. (2001) · Coral Reefs · doi:10.1007/s00338-001-0185-6 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
Houlbrèque, F., Tambutté, É., & Ferrier‐Pagès, C. (2003) · Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology · doi:10.1016/s0022-0981(03)00259-4 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Morphology, fluid motion and predation by the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita
Costello, J. H., & Colin, S. P. (1994) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/bf00346741 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
A viscosity-enhanced mechanism for biogenic ocean mixing
Katija, K., & Dabiri, J. O. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature08207 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Biomimetics: Nature-Based Innovation
Pipe, T., Vaidyanathan, R., Melhuish, C., Bremner, P. A. M., Robinson, P., Clark, R. C., Lenz, A., Eder, K., Hawes, N. E., Zoubin Ghahramani, A., et al. (2011) · Taylor and Francis · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Water flow influences oxygen transport and photosynthetic efficiency in corals
Finelli, C. M., Helmuth, B. S. T., Pentcheff, N. D., et al. (2005) · Coral Reefs · doi:10.1007/s00338-005-0055-8 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Mass‐transfer limitation of nutrient uptake by a wave‐dominated reef flat community
Falter, J. L., Atkinson, M. J., & Merrifield, M. A. (2004) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2004.49.5.1820 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Fabricius, K., & Klumpp, D. (1995) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps125195 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Aeration of corals by sleep‐swimming fish
Goldshmid, R., Holzman, R., Weihs, D., & Genin, A. (2004) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2004.49.5.1832 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Self-citationBiomimetics: Nature-Based Innovation
Bar‐Cohen, Y. (2011) · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Intense benthic grazing of phytoplankton in a coral reef
Genin, A., Monismith, S. G., Reidenbach, M. A., Yahel, G., & Koseff, J. R. (2009) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2009.54.3.0938 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationMass transfer limitation of photosynthesis of coral reef algal turfs
Carpenter, R. C., & Williams, S. L. (2006) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/s00227-006-0465-3 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Oriented intra-colonial transport of 14C labeled materials during coral regeneration
Oren, U., Rinkevich, B., & Loya, Y. (1997) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps161117 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Fishelson, L. (1970) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/bf00347239 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Effect of water flow on the photosynthesis of three marine macrophytes from a fringing-reef lagoon
Enríquez, S., & Rodríguez-Román, A. (2006) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps323119 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Feeding behaviour and feeding ecology of the Octocorallia (Coelenterata: Anthozoa)
Lewis, J. B. (1982) · Journal of Zoology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1982.tb03509.x · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Jantzen, C., Wild, C., Rasheed, M., el-Zibdah, M., & Richter, C. (2010) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps08623 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Goldsworthy, A. (1970) · The Botanical Review · doi:10.1007/bf02859252 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Kinzie, R. A. (1993) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/bf00350022 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Schlichter, D., Svoboda, A., & Kremer, B. P. (1983) · Marine Biology · doi:10.1007/bf00392968 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Falter, J. L., Atkinson, M. J., & Coimbra, C. F. M. (2005) · Limnology and Oceanography · doi:10.4319/lo.2005.50.1.0246 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Hamlet, C., Santhanakrishnan, A., & Miller, L. A. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.052506 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Santhanakrishnan, A., Dollinger, M., Hamlet, C., Colin, S. P., & Miller, L. A. (2012) · Journal of Experimental Biology · doi:10.1242/jeb.053744 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Schlichter, D. (1982) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/bf00377134 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Lamarck JBPA (1816) Histoire Naturelle des Animeaux sans Vertèbres [Natural History of Invertebrate Animals] (Verdière, Paris), Vol 2, pp 409-410. French.
- Mass T (2010) Biological and ecological effects of flow on corals. PhD thesis (Hebrew Univ of Jerusalem, Jerusalem), p 86.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Co-evolution of eukaryotes and ocean oxygenation in the Neoproterozoic era
Lenton, T. M., Boyle, R. A., Poulton, S. W., Shields-Zhou, G. A., & Butterfield, N. J. (2014) · Nature Geoscience · doi:10.1038/ngeo2108 · Cited by 424 · see citing works
The Jellyfish Cassiopea Exhibits a Sleep-like State
Nath, R. D., Bedbrook, C. N., Abrams, M. J., Basinger, T., Bois, J. S., Prober, D. A., Sternberg, P. W., Gradinaru, V., & Goentoro, L. (2017) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.08.014 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Back to the Basics: Cnidarians Start to Fire
Bosch, T. C. G., Klimovich, A., Domazet-Lošo, T., Gründer, S., Holstein, T. W., Jékely, G., Miller, D. J., Murillo-Rincon, A. P., Rentzsch, F., Richards, G. S., et al. (2017) · Trends in Neurosciences · doi:10.1016/j.tins.2016.11.005 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Oxygen, animals and aquatic bioturbation: An updated account
Butterfield, N. J. (2018) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/gbi.12267 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kremien, M., Shavit, U., Mass, T., & Genin, A.
- Affiliations
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Corresponding author
- Kremien, Maya
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2013-04-22
- Volume
- 110
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 8978-8983
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC3670383
- OpenAlex
- W2159441955
- Cited by
- 89
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 5.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Israel Science Foundation (1487/10, 620/07 and 1487/10, 620/07)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Keywords
- soft coral, Xeniidae, coral photosynthesis, upward flow, Rubisco oxygenation, Cnidaria
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Carbon Dioxide, Extremities, Movement, Oxygen, Photosynthesis, Rheology, Ribulose-Bisphosphate Carboxylase, Water Movements, Statistics, Nonparametric, Indian Ocean, Anthozoa
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
