Other Techniques
From coraldigest
Other Techniques
- Suspension Feeding
- Suspension feeders actively capture food particles from the water with tentacles [1]
- strategy adopted by members of Anthozoa and Hydrozoa class - includes scleractinian corals, octocorals, and crinoids[1]
- Example: Corals
- Supplements food derived from Zooxanthellae [1]
- Usually occurs at night[1]
- polyp extends tentacles out from body where they encounter small fish, zooplankton, bacterioplankton, etc. [2]
- mucus suspension feeders - some species collect fine particles in mucous film or strands, which are drawn by cilia into the polyp's mouth[2]
- Example: Crinoids
- Have finger-like podia occur in triads on both sides of the pinnular ambulacra (need picture/diagram) [3]
- when suspended food particle touches podia, it flicks, bends, or curls rapidly inward to force food particle into food groove [3]
- primary podia are adhesive, with role of mucus in capturing food particles varying among species [3]
- Filter Feeding
- Method:
- Example: Sponges
- Example: Herrings
- Example: Manta Rays
- Detritivores: Consume dead organic material and return nutrients to the sediment. [4]
- Definition of dead organic material: animal and plant remains, waste products, and the bacteria/microorganisms associated with waste products [5]
- At least 3 reef fish families have been identified as feeding heavily on detritus in what is called the "epilithic algal matrix": Surgeonfishes, damselfishes, and blennies [5]
- Hard Substrate Detritivores (most members of the Ctenochaetus genus) [5]
- Sediment Detritivores
- Algal Detritivores
- Mucus-feeders: "consume only coral mucus without removing any other live coral tissue or underlying skeleton" [8]
- coral mucus contains energy-rich wax esters, fatty acids, and triglycerides, which provide valuable source of energy for many fish [5][8][9]
- Corals produce a lot of mucus, producing 51-480 mg m^-2 d^-1 [9]
- Study by Bensen and Muscatine (1974) [10]
- When coral mucus was artificially dispersed, fish assembled and avidly ingested it
- Conclusion: coral mucus is an important food source for reef inhabitants and could be an energy source linking the coral producer and small fish consumers in reef communities
- Example: Ornate Butterfly Fish has been shown to consume large quantities of coral when feeding [5][11]
- Scavengers
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 http://www.coralscience.org/main/articles/aquaculture-a-husbandry-4/filter-feeders
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.coris.noaa.gov/retired/CoRIS_About_Coral_Reefs_archive_2014.pdf
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.nova.edu/ocean/messing/crinoids/8%20Feeding%20mechanism.html
- ↑ http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/coral-reef-food-web/?ar_a=1
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/saltwater-conditions/marine-fish-feeding-guilds.aspx
- ↑ http://www.fishbase.org/summary/6015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/ber-algae-eaters-the-lawnmower-blennies-full-article.htm
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rotjan, Randi D. "Impact of Coral Predators on Tropical Reefs." Marine Ecology Progress Series 367 (2008): 73-91. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Rotjan" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 9.0 9.1 Coffroth 1984, http://www.nsm.buffalo.edu/Bio/burr/Publications/4%20Coffroth1984.pdf
- ↑ Benson and Muscatine 1974, http://aslo.net/lo/toc/vol_19/issue_5/0810.pdf
- ↑ Cole, Andrew J., Morgan S. Pratchett, and Geoffrey P. Jones. "Diversity and Functional Importance of Coral-feeding Fishes on Tropical Coral Reefs." Fish and Fisheries 9 (2008): 1-22.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Rassweiler, Andrew, and Thomas Rassweiler. "Does Rapid Scavenging Hide Non-predation Mortality in Coral-reef Communities?" Marine and Freshwater Research 62 (2011): 510-15.
- ↑ http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=37