Findings help predict the fate of coral reefs

Scientists find that corals rely more on hunting than previously thought

When it comes to feeding, corals have two options. Most of their nutrients come from microscopic algae living inside of them, but if those algae aren’t creating enough sustenance, corals can use their tentacles to grab and eat prey swimming nearby. Paper lead author Mike Fox – a postdoctoral scholar at WHOI who completed this research as a PhD student at Scripps – found that some corals rely more on hunting than scientists previously suspected.
The study published Tuesday, September 17, in the journal Functional Ecology.

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