Zooplankton feeding by corals underestimated

Research by marine biologists from Wageningen University has shown that feeding on zooplankton by scleractinian corals has been greatly underestimated.

Octocorals found to be reef builders

Scientists from Taiwan and Israel have found that octocorals are important reef builders. This exciting discovery makes us rethink the very nature of coral reefs.

Flatworms compete with corals for zooplankton

Epizoic coral flatworms have been found to compete with their coral host for zooplankton. This finding is in agreement with the theory that symbiotic coral flatworms are parasitic.

Small polyps do capture zooplankton

Small polyped stony corals are often believed to simply rely on strong lighting and dissolved nutrients. But even these corals capture significant amounts of plankton.

Physogyra lichtensteini

Written by Tim Wijgerde

Taxonomy:

Physogyra lichtensteini (Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1851)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Subclass: Hexacorallia

Order: Scleractinia

Family: Euphyllidae

Genus: Physogyra

Species: lichtensteini

Physogyra lichtensteini is a reef-building and zooxanthellate coral species. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and Madagascar to the Central Pacific. It is common in the aquarium trade.

Author:

Tim Wijgerde

References:

Veron, J.E.N. and M. Stafford Smith, 2000. Corals of the world. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. 1382 pp

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Zooplankton feeding by corals underestimated

Octocorals found to be reef builders

Flatworms compete with corals for zooplankton

Small polyps do capture zooplankton