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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities
07:59

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Published on: January 6, 2023

Herbivory in asymbiotic soft corals.

K E Fabricius, Y Benayahu, A Genin

    Science (New York, N.Y.)
    |April 7, 1995
    PubMed
    Summary

    A Red Sea soft coral exclusively consumes phytoplankton, a novel feeding strategy for corals. This phytoplankton herbivory allows azooxanthellate (zooxanthellae-free) corals to thrive in nutrient-poor waters.

    Area of Science:

    • Marine Biology
    • Coral Ecology
    • Zoology

    Background:

    • Most corals host symbiotic zooxanthellae for nutrition.
    • Azooxanthellate corals typically rely on heterotrophy (zooplankton capture).
    • Phytoplankton is often abundant in oligotrophic reef environments.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the feeding strategies of azooxanthellate soft corals.
    • To identify novel nutritional modes in corals.
    • To understand coral productivity in oligotrophic conditions.

    Main Methods:

    • Dietary analysis of Red Sea soft corals.
    • Observation of feeding behaviors in azooxanthellate species.
    • Biomass density measurements of plankton in reef waters.

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    Main Results:

    • One Red Sea soft coral species was found to feed almost exclusively on phytoplankton.
    • Herbivory on phytoplankton was identified in three additional azooxanthellate soft corals.
    • Phytoplankton biomass can significantly exceed zooplankton biomass in oligotrophic waters.

    Conclusions:

    • Phytoplankton herbivory represents a previously unknown nutritional mode for corals.
    • This feeding strategy enables azooxanthellate corals to achieve high productivity in nutrient-limited reef ecosystems.
    • Azooxanthellate corals can effectively utilize phytoplankton resources in flow-exposed, oligotrophic waters.