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Biol Bull 49: 407-439. (December 1925)
© 1925 Marine Biological Laboratory
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ON THE FEEDING REACTIONS AND DIGESTION IN THE CORAL POLYP ASTRANGIA DANÆ, WITH NOTES ON ITS SYMBIOSIS WITH ZOÖXANTHELLÆ

H. BOSCHMA 1

1 ZOÖLOGICAL LABORATORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LEYDEN

The feeding reactions of Astrangia in general consist of four actions: muscular action of the tentacles, muscular action of the central part of the oral disk, secretion of mucus by the oral disk, and ciliary action of the stomodæum.

The reaction of the food-vacuoles in the digestive region of the mesenterial filaments immediately after the feeding is acid; after about two days the reaction changes to alkaline. In this alkaline period in all probability the digestion takes place. There is sufficient evidence that besides intracellular digestion a secretion of a digestive fluid (a trypsin-like enzyme) occurs.

In the polyps of Astrangia which contain zoöxanthellæ in their entoderm these unicellular algæ furnish a part of the normal food of the polyps: a quantity of these algae are digested in the mesenterial filaments.

Polyps of Astrangia without zoöxanthellæ can be easily infected with these algæ by feeding them with crab meat mixed with parts of the tissues of strongly infected polyps.






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Copyright © 1925 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.