Sea corals team up to catch jellyfish

Corals work together to catch and eat stinging jellyfish, a study has found.

Scientists believed corals did not eat jellyfish but are now rethinking the theory following new discoveries.

Researchers from Edinburgh University studying cave-dwelling corals in the Mediterranean have shown they can co-operate to capture jellyfish swept against their walls by ocean currents.

After spotting jellyfish stuck to undersea cliffs and caves near islands off the Sicilian coast, scientists discovered that as jellyfish tried to escape, they brush against more of the corals which each latched on to them.

The co-ordinated effort to snare their prey rewards the corals, which mostly feed on tiny marine creatures known as plankton, with a large meal.