Briefly describe the feeding strategies employed by marine organisms including suspension feeding (filter feeding), deposit feeding, and carnivorous feeding

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In suspension feeding, which is also called filter feeding, organisms use specially designed structures to filter plankton from seawater. For example, barnacles, which are sessile crustaceans, attach to hard surfaces and use their legs to strain passing food particles from the water. Clams bury themselves in sediment and extend siphons up to the surface. They pump in overlying water and filter from it suspended plankton and other organic matter. In deposit feeding, organisms feed on food items that occur as deposits. These deposits include detritus—dead and decaying organic matter and waste products—and the sediment itself, which is coated with organic matter. Some deposit feeders, such as the amphipod Orchestoidea, feed on more concentrated deposits of organic matter (detritus) on the sediment surface. Others, such as the segmented worm Arenicola, feed by ingesting sediment and extracting organic matter from it. In carnivorous feeding, organisms directly capture and eat other animals. This predation can be either passive or active. Passive predation involves waiting for prey items and ensnaring them; an example of this is how a sea anemone feeds. Active predation involves seeking prey. Examples include sharks and the sand star Astropecten, which burrows rapidly into sandy beaches and feeds voraciously on crustaceans, mollusks, worms, and other echinoderms.