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Science 7 April 1995:
Vol. 268. no. 5207, pp. 90 - 92
DOI: 10.1126/science.268.5207.90
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Articles

Herbivory in Asymbiotic Soft Corals

Katharina E. Fabricius 1, Yehuda Benayahu 2, and Amatzia Genin 3

1 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Post Mail Box Number 3, Townsville Q4810, Australia, and Zoological Institute, University of Munich, Karlstrasse 23, 80333 Munich, Germany
2 Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel
3 Hebrew University, H. Steinitz Marine Biological Laboratory, Post Office Box 469, Eilat 88103, Israel

A zooxanthellae-free soft coral from the Red Sea feeds almost exclusively on phytoplankton, a mode of nutrition so far unknown for corals. Herbivory was also found in three other azooxanthellate soft corals. In tropical oligotrophic waters, phytoplankton biomass density may be an order of magnitude higher than that of zooplankton. Use of this resource allows these azooxanthellate cnidarians to be highly productive in flow-exposed oligotrophic reef waters.

Submitted on July 15, 1994
Accepted on January 30, 1995


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Herbivory in Soft Corals: Correction.
K. Fabricius, Y. Benayahu, G. Yahel, and A. Genin (1996)
Science 273, 295-296
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)