Watching the nudibranchs feeding, the scientists discovered that the animals were twice as likely to eat hydroid polyps which had themselves just eaten. In fact, over half of the sea slugs’ diet consists of zooplankton, which they can only obtain by eating hydroids which have eaten it.

“Effectively we have a sea slug living near the bottom of the ocean that is using another species as a fishing rod to provide access to plankton that it otherwise wouldn’t have,” says Willis.

https://newatlas.com/sea-slugs-kleptopredation/52016/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=89ac154090-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-89ac154090-92533145

PermeateFree said:

Watching the nudibranchs feeding, the scientists discovered that the animals were twice as likely to eat hydroid polyps which had themselves just eaten. In fact, over half of the sea slugs’ diet consists of zooplankton, which they can only obtain by eating hydroids which have eaten it.

“Effectively we have a sea slug living near the bottom of the ocean that is using another species as a fishing rod to provide access to plankton that it otherwise wouldn’t have,” says Willis.

https://newatlas.com/sea-slugs-kleptopredation/52016/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=89ac154090-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-89ac154090-92533145

The same way we use cormorants.

Peak Warming Man said:

PermeateFree said:

Watching the nudibranchs feeding, the scientists discovered that the animals were twice as likely to eat hydroid polyps which had themselves just eaten. In fact, over half of the sea slugs’ diet consists of zooplankton, which they can only obtain by eating hydroids which have eaten it.

“Effectively we have a sea slug living near the bottom of the ocean that is using another species as a fishing rod to provide access to plankton that it otherwise wouldn’t have,” says Willis.

https://newatlas.com/sea-slugs-kleptopredation/52016/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=89ac154090-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-89ac154090-92533145

The same way we use cormorants.

Not quite the way cormorants were used, or quite like the way that anglerfish use bacteria to light up the lure on their fishing rods.

I can’t think of a good other analogy for only eating animals that have just eaten. Surely there must be many other examples, but not on any wildlife show I’ve seen.