Float like a jellyfish: New coral mobility mechanisms uncovered
image:
Orange Fungia
view moreCredit: Dr Brett Lewis
When it comes time to migrate, QUT research has found how a free-living coral ignores the classic advice and goes straight towards the light.
The research – led by Dr Brett Lewis from the QUT School of Atmospheric and Earth Sciences and Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, and published in PLOS One – investigated how the free-living mushroom coral Cycloseris cyclolites moves, navigates and responds to light in its natural environments.
“Not all corals are attached to the substrate; some are solitary and free-living, allowing them to migrate into preferred habitats,” Dr Lewis said.
“However, the lifestyle of these mobile corals, including how they move and navigate for migration, remains largely obscure.”
Cycloseris cyclolites is an adorably small free-living species of mushroom coral capable of migrating to different reef habitats, often driven by the search for optimal light conditions.
Using high-resolution time-lapse imaging, the team identified that Cycloseris cyclolites was able to move via a mechanism known as pulsed inflation, a process where the coral inflates and deflates its tissue in rhythmic bursts to propel itself forward, like the movement seen in jellyfish.
The mechanism appears to be a widespread strategy for free-living corals, aiding in functions such as self-righting when turned upside down, sediment rejection when buried during storms and now phototaxis – behaviours that help the coral survive in complex environments.
“Our findings suggest that pulsed inflation is not just a survival strategy but a critical mechanism for migration and navigation,” Dr Lewis said.
“The ability of Cycloseris cyclolites to move towards specific light sources is a fascinating parallel to other marine species like jellyfish, which suggests they are more neurologically sophisticated than previously thought.”
Cycloseris cyclolites was also shown to exhibit a strong preference for blue light, with 86.7 per cent of the corals moving towards blue light sources, compared to just 20 per cent for white light.
The ability of these migratory mushroom corals to distinguish between different wavelengths of light aligns with their preference for deeper water habitats, where blue wavelengths dominate, and could be crucial for their migration to optimal depths for survival, reproduction and dispersal.
Providing new insights into coral mobility mechanisms, the findings show just how closely related these corals are to jellyfish mechanisms which have been previously researched as a key point in the evolution of the centralised nervous system humans possess today.
“The findings also have important ecological implications,” Dr Lewis said.
“Understanding their movement strategies could help scientists predict how migratory corals might resist, survive or adapt to changes in environmental conditions such as sea surface changes caused by climate change, which can be reduced by the deeper waters these corals migrate to.
“With these climate-driven factors increasing, the faster the migration, the higher the chance of survival.”
Other QUT researchers involved in the study include Professor Peter Prentis, from the School of Biology and Environmental Science, and Dr Luke Nothdurft, from the School of Atmospheric and Earth Sciences.
S1 [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
Super high-resolution time-lapse taken using Olympus Om-D E-M5 Mark II Camera with 60mm lens showing C. cyclolites tissue inflation, which reduces friction and increases buoyancy. This process allows local water currents to move the coral in the prevailing direction, facilitating passive locomotion.
S2 [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
S3 [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
Time-lapse video demonstrating the biomechanics of pulsed inflation mobility in C. cyclolites. The video integrates footage from an iPad (inset) capturing the topside view and a Dino-Lite Edge Series microscope recording the underside. This combined perspective highlights the coordinated inflation and contraction of coral tissues, driving active locomotion by shifting surface contact via pedal structures and generating forward movement through lateral tissue contractions.
S4 [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
High-resolution time-lapse (4K), captured using an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III with a 60mm lens, demonstrating the detailed biomechanics of pulsed inflation mobility in C. cyclolites. The video shows the inflation of peripheral tissues and the twisting and contraction of lateral tissues, which collectively drive the coral's forward movement in a manner similar to jellyfish swimming.
Dr Brett Lewis
Journal
PLOS One
Article Title
Walking coral: Complex phototactic mobility in the free-living coral Cycloseris cyclolites
Article Publication Date
22-Jan-2025
Some coral "walk" towards blue or white light, using rolling, sliding or pulsing movements to migrate, per experiments with free-living mushroom coral Cycloseris cyclolites
PLOS
image:
High-definition macro DSLR images documenting the complex tissue behavior as C. cyclolites moves toward the blue source light (480nm).
view moreCredit: Lewis et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315623
Article title: Walking coral: Complex phototactic mobility in the free-living coral Cycloseris cyclolites
Author countries: Australia, Saudi Arabia
Funding: The authors declare the research was funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project (DP1096184). APC support was received by QUT to aid in publication. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Walking coral: Complex photota [VIDEO 1] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
Super high-resolution time-lapse, captured using an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera with a 60mm lens, showing passive mobility in C. cyclolites. The local water currents cause the coral to roll over the substrate.
Walking coral: Complex photota [VIDEO 2] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases
High-resolution time-lapse (4K), captured using an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III with a 60mm lens, demonstrating the detailed biomechanics of pulsed inflation mobility in C. cyclolites. The video shows the inflation of peripheral tissues and the twisting and contraction of lateral tissues, which collectively drive the coral’s forward movement in a manner similar to jellyfish swimming.
Credit
Lewis et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Journal
PLOS One
Article Title
Walking coral: Complex phototactic mobility in the free-living coral Cycloseris cyclolites
Article Publication Date
22-Jan-2025
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