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.

Valenciennea puellaris

Written by Tim Wijgerde

Taxonomy:

Valenciennea puellaris (Tomiyama, 1956)

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Family: Gobiidae

Genus: Valencienna

Species: puellaris

Valenciennea puellaris is a Goby from the Indo-Pacific. It occurs in the Red Sea up to Samoa, north to southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. It grows to a size of about 20 cm (8 inches) in length. V. puellaris filters the substrate for small invertebrate prey. Specimens occasionally make their way to the aquarium trade.

Author:

Tim Wijgerde

References:

Wikipedia

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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