pora caliendrum and Galaxea fascicularis (Ferrier-Pages
et al. 2003; Treignieret al. 2009; Wijgerdeet al. 2012a).
Heterotrophic feeding also improves coral quality as it contributes to maximize resilience to stress and potential for
recovery (Grottoli et al. 2006). This is important to
increase the tolerance of corals to changes in water quality
and light variation that often occur in the MOT, as well as
to improve the adaptation potential of corals that are cultured for reef restoration purposes. Furthermore, the
increase in the tissue-to-skeleton ratio promoted by coral
feeding (Ferrier-Pageset al.2003; Houlbrequeet al.2003)
is critical for coral cultures targeting the pharmaceutical
industry (Lealet al.2014d)