Peranan Zooxanthella dalam ekosistem terumbu karang

THE IMPORTANCE OF ZOOXANTHELLA IN CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.
Zooxanthellae is a vernacular name used for unicellular algae living inside the body of various kinds of marine invertebrates, where their association with the host animal is symbiotic. The zooxanthella obtains shelter, carbon dioxide, and nutrients from the host while the host get organic food and oxygen from the zooxanthella as the product of photosynthesis. It is shown that in a global scale this endosymbiont can produce as much as 4.6 x 10^8 ton C/year. Significant role of zooxanthella in a coral reef ecosystem is described covering among others : photosynthesis, energy transfer to the host animal, nutrient recycling, production and consumption of oxygen, and calcification of coral skeleton.