A matter of choice: Understanding the interactions between epiphytic foraminifera and their seagrass host Halophila stipulacea

This study explored the nature of the association between foraminifera and the tropical seagrass species H. stipulacea, aiming to determine whether these interactions are facilitative or random. For this, we performed a "choice" experiment, where foraminifera could colonize H. stipulacea plants or plastic "seagrasses" plants. The results show that foraminifera prefer to colonize H. stipulacea, which had a higher abundance and diversity of foraminifera than plastic seagrass plants, which increased over time and with shoot age. These results demonstrate that seagrass meadows are important hosts of the foraminifera community and suggest the potential facilitative effect of H. stipulacea on epiphytic foraminifera.本研究探究了有孔虫（foraminifera）与热带海草物种喜盐草（H. stipulacea）之间的关联本质，旨在明确二者的相互作用属于促进型还是随机型。为此，我们开展了"选择"实验，让有孔虫可在喜盐草植株或塑料仿真海草植株上定殖。实验结果显示，有孔虫更倾向于在喜盐草上定殖；相较于塑料仿真海草植株，喜盐草上的有孔虫丰度与多样性更高，且二者均随时间推移与植株芽龄的增加而上升。上述结果表明，海草床是有孔虫群落的重要宿主生境，同时提示喜盐草对附生有孔虫（epiphytic foraminifera）具有潜在的促进作用。