Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Systems Biology
Animals And Their Epibiota As Net Autotrophs: Size Scaling Of Epibiotic Metabolism On Snail Shells, Nicole Lukens, Benjamin Kraemer, Vanessa Constant, Ellen J. Hamann, Ellinor Michel, Anne M. Socci, Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, Peter B. Mcintyre
Animals And Their Epibiota As Net Autotrophs: Size Scaling Of Epibiotic Metabolism On Snail Shells, Nicole Lukens, Benjamin Kraemer, Vanessa Constant, Ellen J. Hamann, Ellinor Michel, Anne M. Socci, Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, Peter B. Mcintyre
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Animals are heterotrophic by definition, but species from many taxonomic groups are hosts to epibiota that may alter their net metabolism. We tested the degree to which snail-shell epibiota can generate net ecosystem productivity for snails and their epibiota (snail–epibiota ecosystems; SEEs) after accounting for snail respiration. We focused on 3 species from the Lavigeria snail assemblage in Africa’s Lake Tanganyika and quantified the scaling of SEE metabolism with shell size under light and dark conditions. The metabolism of snails and their epibiota shifted significantly across the size gradient. SEEs of large snails (>20 mm) were consistently autotrophic during …