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Based on our findings, the host can gain full access to the pool of dissolved inorganic nutrients, that would otherwise not be accessible to coral animals, by acquiring N and P through feeding on symbionts. If sufficiently large amounts of dissolved inorganic N and P are available to the symbiont, the host can sustain its growth and metabolic demands exclusively through symbiont farming and digestion. In nutrient-limited conditions, the symbiotic association can exploit both major pools of nutrients, dissolved inorganic forms of N and P as well as dissolved and particulate organic forms of N and P. In well-lit, clear, warm and nutrient-poor waters, the ability of the coral to reciprocally transfer these vital N and P compounds between the partners of the symbiotic association gains them an evolutionary and ecological advantage over plants or animals that are limited to accessing one or the other nutrient pool.

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