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Multiple feeding strategies observed in the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2019

Fiona Murray Open the ORCID record for Fiona Murray [Opens in a new window] ,
Laurence H. De Clippele ,
Alexandra Hiley ,
Laura Wicks ,
J. Murray Roberts  and
Sebastian Hennige
Fiona Murray*
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, The Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
Laurence H. De Clippele
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, The Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
Alexandra Hiley
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, The Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK Nova Southeastern University, Halmos College of Natural Science and Oceanography in Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Laura Wicks
Affiliation:
Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
J. Murray Roberts
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, The Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
Sebastian Hennige*
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, The Grant Institute, University of Edinburgh, James Hutton Road, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FE, UK
*
Authors for correspondence: Fiona Murray, E-mail: fiona.murray25@gmail.com; Sebastian Hennige, E-mail: s.hennige@ed.ac.uk
Authors for correspondence: Fiona Murray, E-mail: fiona.murray25@gmail.com; Sebastian Hennige, E-mail: s.hennige@ed.ac.uk
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Abstract

Cold-water coral reefs are biodiversity hotspots of the deep sea. The most dominant reef-building cold-water coral in the Atlantic is Lophelia pertusa, which builds vast and structurally complex habitats. Studying the behaviours of deep-sea species is challenging due to the technological difficulties in making prolonged observations in situ, so little is known about the behavioural ecology of this important species. Observations in laboratory studies can help to enhance our understanding of the range of behaviours these species exhibit. Here we present video evidence that the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa is capable of producing mucus nets as part of their feeding strategy. This finding suggests that L. pertusa has a more diverse range of feeding strategies than previously thought.

Keywords

Feeding behaviourfeeding mechanismLophelia pertusatrophic ecology

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 6 , September 2019 , pp. 1281 - 1283
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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