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CHANGES IN THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF SYMBIOTIC ZOOXANTHELLAE (SYMBIODINIUM SP., DINOPHYCEAE) IN FED AND STARVED SEA ANEMONES MAINTAINED UNDER HIGH AND LOW LIGHT 1

The ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium sp., zooxanthellae) in the sea anemone Aiptasia pallida Verrill was examined in well‐fed or starved (up to 120 days) anemones maintained under two light levels (5 and 50 μmol · m−2· s−1). Cell size of zooxanthellae was not affected by feeding history; however, both light and feeding history affected the relative cell volume of chloroplasts, lipids, and vacuoles. Stereological analysis of transmission electron micrographs showed that algae in low‐light starved anemones had 10 times as much lipid (17.4% of cell volume) as those in well‐fed anemones under the same light conditions (1.8%). The lipid content of algae from anemones in high light increased from 15.4% in well‐fed anemones to 30.1% in starved anemones. The starch content of zooxanthellae in low‐light anemones was law (4.1%) and not affected by feeding history, while the starch content of zooxanthellae in high‐light anemones was greater (10.7%), with some differences among groups. Algal photoacclimation to low light included an increase in chloroplast relative volume from 17% (in well‐fed high‐light anemones) to 33% in well‐fed low‐light anemones. Starvation of the host resulted in a significant decrease in chloroplast volume in zooxanthellae in anemones at both light levels. Morphometry provides quantitative confirmation of biochemical and physiological data on zooxanthellae, because the changes in zooxanthellae with starvation of the host are consistent with other indicators of nutrient limitation of zooxanthellae of A. pallida held without food for long periods of time.