Benavides M. auteur aut IRD Houlbrèque Fanny auteur aut IRD Camps M. auteur aut IRD Lorrain Anne auteur aut IRD Grosso O. auteur aut IRD Bonnet Sophie auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Corals aremixotrophs: they are able to fix inorganic carbon through the activity of their symbiotic dinoflagellates and to gain nitrogen from predation on plankton and uptake of dissolved organic and inorganic nutrients. They also live in close association with diverse diazotrophic communities, inhabiting their skeleton, tissue and mucus layer, which are able to fix dinitrogen (N-2). The quantity of fixed N-2 transferred to the corals and its distribution within coral compartments as well as the quantity of nitrogen assimilated through the ingestion of planktonic diazotrophs are still unknown. Here, we quantified nitrogen assimilation via (i) N-2 fixation by symbiont diazotrophs, (ii) ingestion of cultured unicellular diazotrophs and (iii) ingestion of natural planktonic diazotrophs. We estimate that the ingestion of diazotrophs provides 0.76 Alpha +/- 0.15 mu g N cm(-2) h(-1), suggesting that diazotrophs represent a non-negligible source of nitrogen for scleractinian corals. specialized Scleractinian corals Heterotrophic nutrition Cyanothece N-2 fixation New Caledonia NOUVELLE CALEDONIE ZONE TROPICALE 034 219 17 2608-2612 2016 0022-0949 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010068211 10.1242/jeb.139451 0022-0949 [F B010068211] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010068211 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2016/11/010068211.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2016-12-06 2017-08-23 fdi:010068211 fre