planktivory. sponges filter feeding in aurelia (moon jelly) jellyfish
Post on 22-Dec-2015
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Filter feeding in Aurelia (Moon Jelly)
Jellyfish
PlanktivorySuspension feeders:Animals that process large quantities of water through a feeding apparatus (gill rakers, baleen).
Gill rakers trap particles such as zooplankton, phytoplankton and detritus.
Includes: manta rays, basking shark, whale shark, megamouth, paddlefish, gizzard shad, menhaden, and bighead carp.
Feeding strategies:
A) Obligate and faculative planktivores:
Most fish are planktivorous at some point in their life, either as holoplankton or meroplankton.
• Facultative planktivores: (ex. sunfishes) are opportunistic feeders. Prey selection depends on food availability
• Obligate planktivores: (ex. blueblack herring, Atlantic Menhaden) feed exclusively on plankton
B) Ram feeding and suction feeding
Ram feeding: creates a forward motion in which water is delivered into the mouth; opens mouth wide as possible and rams prey
• continuous ram feeders
• intermittent ram feeders
Suction feeding: predator remains relatively stationary, comes close to prey and then sucks prey in.
• continuous suction feeders
• intermittent suction feeders
Suction feeder Nonsuction feeder
Continuous ram feeders (tow-net)- water passes continuously through mouth, over gills and exits through gill slits or operculum.
~20 species fish
In fish: extensive elaboration of the branchial (gill) apparatus
Manta Ray:• They have no teeth. • Cephalic flaps channel water containing plankton into
mouth• To prevent gills from clogging, a screen of small tiny
protuberances located in the throat, hold the food until it can be swallowed.
Megamouth, Basking Shark and Whale Shark- Generally these planktivorous sharks have tiny numerous teeth and elongated gill rakers. The gill rakers help to strain plankton.
Basking shark- (10 meters long)
• Swims about 2 knots with mouth open and bristle-like gill rakers erect while filtering particulate matter
• It then closes its’ mouth forcing water over the gills; it is an indiscriminate planktivore
• Has five pairs of gill slits and can filters ~540 liters zooplankton/day and over 1500 gallons of water/ hour (1850 m3 water/hour)
Basking Shark Dentition
(A) Labial, (B) basal and (C) lateral views of basking shark teeth, ex Compagno (1990) NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS 90,
D) Enlarged photo of a portion of jaw,ex Radcliffe (1916) Bull. Bur. Fish. Circ. 822
Paddlefish- Order Acipenseriformes• freshwater, rarely brackish; found in China and the US• gill rakers are long and in the hundreds- used for
plankton feeding, minute teeth are presentPolyodon spathula (US- Mississippi drainage)- plankton-
feeding; non protrusible mouthPsephurus gladius (China- Yangtze River)- piscivorous
with a protrusible mouth
Intermittent ram feeders• takes one gulp of water at a time, extracts
particles and repeats the process• In using this method, the predator needs to be
able to grab prey before it moves out of the way.• Seen in whales, not sure about in fish????
Continuous suction feeders (pump filter feeders)- creates and osculatory pump and draws water in over sieving device. Animal remains still while suctioning.
Ammocetes (lamprey larvae)-spends 3-7 years filter feeding and burrows into sand;
Intermittent suction feeders (intermediate feeding):
• relatively unspecialized• intermediate condition between ram and
suction feeding on individual prey• they don’t alter their swimming speed or
direction to focus attention on individual plankton.
Typically feed by forming aggregations in the water column
prey- swimming crustacea, larvaceans and fish eggs
Diurnal Planktivores
• modifications to jaw, head and dentition: usually small mouth, reduced or absent teeth
• jaw protrusion mainly functions to produce suction
• Can feed on zooplankton smaller than 1mm
Diurnal Planktivores
Crepuscular changeover- diurnal fish leave typically in order of: small fish first….mid sized …. then largeVery active time.
In nocturnal species- fish enter waters above the reef at night fall by size order (small to larger)
Difficulty in visually locating prey in dim light• adaptation- large eyes ex. squirrel fish• Feeding on zooplankton larger than 1 mm
Possibly due to:1.) inability to see smaller ones2.) more efficient3.) prey more vulnerable
Nocturnal Planktivores
Adaptations to nocturnal threats from predators:
• streamlined bodies and deeply forked tails are less developed
• less aggregation occurs at night• countershading using luminescent
organsNocturnal planktivores more widespread
throughout reef than diurnal counterparts