Aquatic feeding mechanisms

{{Short description|Autonomous feeding of animals}} [[File:Georgia Aquarium - Giant Grouper.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Grouper capture their prey by sucking them into their mouths]]

'''Aquatic feeding mechanisms''' face a special difficulty as compared to feeding on land, because the density of water is about the same as that of the prey, so the prey tends to be pushed away when the mouth is closed. This problem was first identified by Robert McNeill Alexander.<ref name="Alexander67">{{Cite book|last=Alexander|first=R. McNeill|title=Functional design in fishes|date=1967|publisher=Hutchinson|isbn=0-09-084770-9|location=London|oclc=456355}}</ref> As a result, underwater predators, especially bony fish, have evolved a number of specialized feeding mechanisms, such as filter feeding, ram feeding, suction feeding, protrusion, and pivot feeding.

Most underwater predators combine more than one of these basic principles. For example, a typical generalized predator, such as the cod, combines suction with some amount of protrusion and pivot feeding.

== Suction feeding == {{external media |float=right |width=230px |video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbGILi8p5Y8&feature=rec-LGOUT-real_rn-HM Video of a red bay snook catching prey by suction feeding] }} {{see also|Cranial kinesis}}

Suction feeding is a method of ingesting a prey item in fluids by sucking the prey into the predator's mouth. It is a highly coordinated behavior achieved by the dorsal rotation of the dermatocranium, lateral expansion of the suspensorium, and the depression of the lower jaw and hyoid.<ref name=Lauder1982>{{Cite journal|last=Lauder|first=George V.|date=May 1982|title=Patterns of Evolution in the Feeding Mechanism of Actinopterygian Fishes|journal=American Zoologist|volume=22|issue=2|pages=275–285|doi=10.1093/icb/22.2.275|issn=0003-1569|doi-access=free}}</ref> Suction feeding leads to successful prey capture through rapid movements creating a drop in pressure in the buccal cavity causing the water in front of the mouth to rush into the oral cavity,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lauder|first=George V.|s2cid=26805223|date=March 1980|title=Evolution of the feeding mechanism in primitive actionopterygian fishes: A functional anatomical analysis of Polypterus, Lepisosteus, and Amia|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=163|issue=3|pages=283–317|doi=10.1002/jmor.1051630305|issn=0362-2525|pmid=30170473}}</ref> entrapping the prey in this flow. This mode of feeding has two main phases: expansion and compression.<ref name=Lauder1982/> The expansion phase involves the initial opening of the jaws to capture prey. These movements during the expansion phase are similar across all suction feeders with the kinesis of the skull leading to slight variations. During the compression phase, the jaws close and water is compressed out of the gills.

Though suction feeding can be seen across fish species, those with more cranial kinesis show an increase in suction potential as a result of more complex skull linkages that allow greater expansion of the buccal cavity and thereby create a greater negative pressure. Most commonly, this is achieved by increasing the lateral expansion of the skull. In addition, the derived trait of anterior protrusion via the premaxillary bone in the upper jaw is acknowledged to increase the force exerted on the prey to be engulfed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Holzman|first1=Roi|last2=Day|first2=Steven W.|last3=Mehta|first3=Rita S.|last4=Wainwright|first4=Peter C.|date=10 June 2008|title=Jaw protrusion enhances forces exerted on prey by suction feeding fishes|journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface|volume=5|issue=29|pages=1445–1457|doi=10.1098/rsif.2008.0159|pmc=2607355|pmid=18544504}}</ref> Protrusible jaws via a mobile premaxilla can only be seen in fishes within the Teleostei clade.<ref name="Lauder1982" /> However, a common misconception of these fishes is that suction feeding is the only or primary method employed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Gardiner|first1=Jayne M.|last2=Motta|first2=Philip J.|date=28 January 2012|title=Largemouth bass (micropterus salmoides) switch feeding modalities in response to sensory deprivation|journal=Zoology (Jena, Germany)|volume=115|issue=2|pages=78–83|doi=10.1016/j.zool.2011.09.004|pmid=22285791}}</ref> In ''Micropterus salmoides'', ram feeding is the primary method for prey capture; however, they can modulate between the two methods or use both as with many teleosts.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Norton|first1=S. F.|last2=Brainerd|first2=E. L.|title=Convergence in the Feeding Mechanics of Ecomorphologically Similar Species in the Centrarchidae and Cichlidae|date=1993-03-01|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=176|issue=1|pages=11–29|doi=10.1242/jeb.176.1.11|issn=0022-0949}}</ref> Also, it is commonly thought that fishes with more primitive characteristics also exhibit suction feeding. Although suction may be created upon the mouth opening in such fishes, the criteria for pure suction feeding includes little or no bodily movement towards their prey.<ref name="Lauder1982" />

=== Tradeoffs === The morphologies and behaviors during suction feeding have led to three main proposed tradeoffs that determine the success of prey capture:<ref>{{Citation|last1=Gidmark|first1=Nicholas J.|title=Functional Morphology and Biomechanics of Feeding in Fishes|date=2019|work=Feeding in Vertebrates|pages=297–332|publisher=Springer International Publishing|isbn=978-3-030-13738-0|last2=Pos|first2=Kelsie|last3=Matheson|first3=Bonne|last4=Ponce|first4=Esai|last5=Westneat|first5=Mark W.|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_9|s2cid=150135750 }}</ref> the rate of jaw opening and closing, the mobility of the bony elements in the skull, and the ratio of ram to suction feeding behavior. The first two qualifications center around the situation that results from a highly kinetic skull.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Westneat|first=M. W.|date=2004-11-01|title=Evolution of Levers and Linkages in the Feeding Mechanisms of Fishes|journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology|volume=44|issue=5|pages=378–389|doi=10.1093/icb/44.5.378|pmid=21676723|issn=1540-7063|doi-access=free}}</ref> Having a highly mobile skull introduces a tradeoff between the ability to have high speed jaw opening (high kinesis) or higher bite transmission (lower kinesis). While there is a more complex relationship between mechanical advantage and the speed of lower jaw depression,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bellwood|first1=D.R|last2=Wainwright|first2=P.C|last3=Fulton|first3=C.J|last4=Hoey|first4=A.S|date=2005-10-12|title=Functional versatility supports coral reef biodiversity|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=273|issue=1582|pages=101–107|doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3276|pmid=16519241|pmc=1560014|issn=0962-8452}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last1=Oufiero|first1=C. E.|last2=Holzman|first2=R. A.|last3=Young|first3=F. A.|last4=Wainwright|first4=P. C.|date=2012-08-01|title=New insights from serranid fishes on the role of trade-offs in suction-feeding diversification|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=215|issue=21|pages=3845–3855|doi=10.1242/jeb.074849|pmid=22855615|issn=0022-0949|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=WAINWRIGHT|first1=PETER C.|last2=BELLWOOD|first2=DAVID R.|last3=WESTNEAT|first3=MARK W.|last4=GRUBICH|first4=JUSTIN R.|last5=HOEY|first5=ANDREW S.|date=2004-04-22|title=A functional morphospace for the skull of labrid fishes: patterns of diversity in a complex biomechanical system|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=82|issue=1|pages=1–25|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00313.x|issn=0024-4066|doi-access=free}}</ref> there is consensus that species using high-speed attacks have more cranial kinesis compared to species that exhibit low speed attacks.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lauder|first1=George V.|last2=Liem|first2=Karel F.|date=November 1981|title=Prey capture by Luciocephalus pulcher: implications for models of jaw protrusion in teleost fishes|journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes|volume=6|issue=3–4|pages=257–268|doi=10.1007/bf00005755|bibcode=1981EnvBF...6..257L |s2cid=24315046|issn=0378-1909}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Martinez|first1=Christopher M.|last2=McGee|first2=Matthew D.|last3=Borstein|first3=Samuel R.|last4=Wainwright|first4=Peter C.|s2cid=49311313|date=2018-07-10|title=Feeding ecology underlies the evolution of cichlid jaw mobility|journal=Evolution|volume=72|issue=8|pages=1645–1655|doi=10.1111/evo.13518|pmid=29920668|issn=0014-3820|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/88v5p9np|access-date=2020-09-06|archive-date=2020-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721222205/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/88v5p9np|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":12" /> Species that have a durophagous diet have also evolved skull morphologies to crush the hard-shelled prey that is a part of their diet.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Collar|first1=David C.|last2=Reece|first2=Joshua S.|last3=Alfaro|first3=Michael E.|last4=Wainwright|first4=Peter C.|last5=Mehta|first5=Rita S.|s2cid=17433961|date=June 2014|title=Imperfect Morphological Convergence: Variable Changes in Cranial Structures Underlie Transitions to Durophagy in Moray Eels|journal=The American Naturalist|volume=183|issue=6|pages=E168–E184|doi=10.1086/675810|pmid=24823828|issn=0003-0147}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Durie|first1=C.J.|last2=Turingan|first2=R.|date=2001|title=Relationship between durophagy and feeding biomechanics in gray triggerfish, Balistes capriscus: intraspecific variation in ecological morphology|journal=Florida Scientist|volume=64|pages=20–28}}</ref> Durophagous species skulls consistently have more fused skulls and shorter jaw lengths. This morphology leads to the skulls being less kinetic than their piscivorous counterparts.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Citation|last=Westneat|first=Mark W.|chapter=Skull Biomechanics and Suction Feeding in Fishes|date=2005|pages=29–75|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-12-350447-0|doi=10.1016/s1546-5098(05)23002-9|title=Fish Biomechanics|volume=23|series=Fish Physiology}}</ref> Having shorter jaw lengths, with a more akinetic skull allows for an individual to have a higher bite force, compromising the ability to have a faster jaw opening when the jaw lengths are longer.

The third main tradeoff within suction feeding occurs with the incorporation of ram feeding with suction feeding behaviors. Ram feeding involves movement of the predator with its mouth open to engulf the prey.<ref name=":3" /> Most species use ram feeding combined with suction feeding to increase the chances of capturing elusive prey<ref name=":3" /> by swimming towards their prey while using suction to draw prey into the mouth. This diversity in relative use is quantified using the ram-suction index (RSI) that calculates the ratio of use for ram and suction during prey capture.<ref name=":3" /> The RSI ratio can be influenced by the morphology of the predator and by the elusiveness of the prey. Ram feeding and suction feeding are on opposite sides of the feeding spectrum, where extreme ram feeding is when a predator swims over an immobile prey item with open jaws to engulf the prey. Extreme suction feeding is demonstrated by sit-and-wait predators that rely on rapid depression of the jaws to capture prey (e.g., frogfish, Antennariidae). There is wide diversity on how much of each feeding strategy an individual uses, especially when body ram movements are considered.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Longo|first1=Sarah J.|last2=McGee|first2=Matthew D.|last3=Oufiero|first3=Christopher E.|last4=Waltzek|first4=Thomas B.|last5=Wainwright|first5=Peter C.|date=2015-11-23|title=Body ram, not suction, is the primary axis of suction-feeding diversity in spiny-rayed fishes|journal=The Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=219|issue=1|pages=119–128|doi=10.1242/jeb.129015|pmid=26596534|issn=0022-0949|doi-access=free}}</ref> The relative use of ram and suction feeding is species dependent, but it can help determine the accuracy of prey capture.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Wainwright|first1=P.C.|last2=Carroll|first2=A.M.|last3=Collar|first3=D.C.|last4=Day|first4=S.W.|last5=Higham|first5=T.E.|last6=Holzman|first6=R.A.|date=2007|title=Suction feeding mechanics, performance, and diversity in fishes|journal=Integrative and Comparative Biology|volume=47|issue=1|pages=96–106|doi=10.1093/icb/icm032|pmid=21672823|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The mouth aperture represents another tradeoff between the ability to capture large elusive prey with more chances of failure—large gape—or to capture smaller elusive prey with greater success—smaller gape. A predator with a small mouth aperture can generate strong suction force compared to an individual with a wider gape.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ferry-Graham|first1=Lara A.|last2=Lauder|first2=George V.|s2cid=4996900|date=2001|title=Aquatic prey capture in ray-finned fishes: A century of progress and new directions|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=248|issue=2|pages=99–119|doi=10.1002/jmor.1023|pmid=11304743|issn=0362-2525}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> This was demonstrated by Wainwright et al. (2007) by comparing the feeding success of the bluegill sunfish, ''Lepomis macrochirus'', and the largemouth bass, ''Micropterus salmoides''. ''L. macrochirus'' has a smaller gape and was found to have higher accuracy with higher flow velocity and acceleration while ''M. salmoides'' has a larger gape with lower accuracy and lower flow velocity and acceleration.<ref name=":4" /> However, with the larger gape the largemouth bass were able to capture larger elusive prey. Using ram feeding in combination with suction feeding can also influence the direction of water into the mouth of the predator. With use of ram, predators are able to change the flow of water around the mouth and focus the flow of water into the mouth.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Higham|first=T. E.|date=2005-07-15|title=Sucking while swimming: evaluating the effects of ram speed on suction generation in bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus using digital particle image velocimetry|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=208|issue=14|pages=2653–2660|doi=10.1242/jeb.01682|pmid=16000535|issn=0022-0949|doi-access=free}}</ref> But with too much ram, a bow wave is created in front of the predator which can push the prey away from the predator's body.<ref name=":5" /> The mouth aperture and RSI represent the overall tradeoff between having a large gape with lower accuracy but being able to capture larger prey vs. having a smaller gape with increased accuracy but the size of prey is limited. The three main tradeoffs within the fish skull have occurred because of the high kinesis in the skull and the elusiveness of some prey types. However, having kinesis in the skull can enable a predator to evolve new techniques on increasing the performance of prey capture.

== Ram feeding == Ram feeding is a method of feeding underwater in which the predator moves forward with its mouth open, engulfing the prey along with the water surrounding it. During ram feeding, the prey remains fixed in space, and the predator moves its jaws past the prey to capture it. The motion of the head may induce a bow wave in the fluid which pushes the prey away from the jaws, but this can be avoided by allowing water to flow through the jaw. This can be accomplished by means of a swept-back mouth, as in balaenid whales,<ref name="Lambertsen2005">{{cite journal|last1= Lambertsen|first1=R. H.|last2= Rasmussen|first2=K. J.|last3= Lancaster|first3=W. C.|last4= Hintz|first4=R. J.|title= Functional Morphology of the Mouth of the Bowhead Whale and Its Implications For Conservation|journal= Journal of Mammalogy|volume= 86|issue= 2|year= 2005|pages= 342–352|doi= 10.1644/BER-123.1|doi-access= free}}</ref> or by allowing water to flow out through the gills, as in sharks and herring. A number of species have evolved narrow snouts, as in gar fish and water snakes.<ref name="Wassenbergh">{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1098/rsif.2009.0385|title = Hydrodynamic constraints on prey-capture performance in forward-striking snakes|year = 2010|last1 = Van Wassenbergh|first1 = Sam|last2 = Brecko|first2 = Jonathan|last3 = Aerts|first3 = Peter|last4 = Stouten|first4 = Ilona|last5 = Vanheusden|first5 = Gwen|last6 = Camps|first6 = Andy|last7 = Van Damme|first7 = Raoul|last8 = Herrel|first8 = Anthony|journal = Journal of the Royal Society Interface|volume = 7|issue = 46|pages = 773–785|pmid = 19828500|pmc = 2874232}}</ref>

Herrings often hunt copepods. If they encounter copepods schooling in high concentrations, the herrings switch to ram feeding. They swim with their mouth wide open and their opercula fully expanded. Every several feet, they close and clean their gill rakers for a few milliseconds (filter feeding). The fish all open their mouths and opercula wide at the same time (the red gills are visible in the photo below&mdash;click to enlarge). The fish swim in a grid where the distance between them is the same as the jump length of the copepods.{{citation needed|date=January 2026}}

<gallery widths="200px"> File:Manta alfredi ram feeding.png|Foraging ''Mobula alfredi'' ram-feeding, swimming against the tidal current with its mouth open and sieving zooplankton from the water<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jaine | first1 = FRA | last2 = Couturier | first2 = LIE | last3 = Weeks | first3 = SJ | last4 = Townsend | first4 = KA | last5 = Bennett | first5 = MB | last6 = Fiora | first6 = K | last7 = Richardson | first7 = AJ | year = 2012 | title = When Giants Turn Up: Sighting Trends, Environmental Influences and Habitat Use of the Manta Ray Manta alfredi at a Coral Reef | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7| issue = 10| article-number = e46170 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0046170 | pmid=23056255 | pmc=3463571| bibcode = 2012PLoSO...746170J | doi-access = free }}</ref> File:Herringramkils.jpg|Herring ram-feeding on a school of copepods File:Group of fish near the beach of Sharm El Naga.jpg|School of adult Indian mackerel ram feeding on macroplankton </gallery>

== Lunge feeding == [[File:Humpback whale Robert Pitman NOAA PS9.jpg|thumb|right|A humpback whale straining water through its baleen after lunging.]] Rorquals feed on plankton by a technique called lunge feeding.<ref name= "Goldbogen2006">{{cite journal | last1 = Goldbogen | first1 = J. A. | last2 = Calambokidis | first2 = J. | last3 = Shadwick | first3 = R. E. | last4 = Oleson | first4 = E. M. | last5 = McDonald | first5 = M. A. | last6 = Hildebrand | first6 = J. A. | year = 2006 | title = Kinematics of foraging dives and lunge-feeding in fin whales | journal = Journal of Experimental Biology | volume = 209 | issue = 7 | pages = 1231–1244 | doi = 10.1242/jeb.02135 | pmid = 16547295 | s2cid = 17923052 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Lunge feeding could be regarded as a kind of inverted suction feeding, during which a whale takes a huge gulp of water, which is then filtered through the baleen.<ref name= "Goldbogen2006" /> Biomechanically this is a unique and extreme feeding method, for which the animal at first must accelerate to gain enough momentum to fold its elastic throat (buccal cavity) around the volume of water to be swallowed.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Potvin | first1 = J | last2 = Goldbogen | first2 = JA | year = 2009 | title = Passive versus active engulfment: verdict from trajectory simulations of lunge-feeding fin whales ''Balaenoptera physalus'' | journal = J. R. Soc. Interface | volume = 6 | issue = 40| pages = 1005–1025 | doi = 10.1098/rsif.2008.0492 | pmid=19158011 | pmc=2827442}}</ref> Subsequently, the water flows back through the baleen, keeping back the food particles. The highly elastic and muscular buccal rills are a specialized adaptation to this feeding mode.

== Jaw protrusion == {{external media |float=right |width=230px |video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDU4CQWXaNY&feature=channel_page Video of a slingjaw wrasse catching prey by protruding its jaw] }} {{main|Jaw protrusion}} Jaw protrusion is the outward movement of the premaxilla or mouthparts towards the prey, which is achieved via more mobile mechanical linkages in the articulations of the mouth. Vertebrate jaw protrusion is known only among modern bony fishes, which possess many forms of coupled linkages in their head.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Muller | first1 = M | year = 1996 | title = A novel classification of planar four-bar linkages and its application to the mechanical analysis of animal systems | journal = Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B | volume = 351 | issue = 1340| pages = 689–720 | doi=10.1098/rstb.1996.0065| pmid = 8927640 | bibcode = 1996RSPTB.351..689M }}</ref> Remarkable examples are the slingjaw wrasse and the sand eel, which can protrude their mouth by several centimeters. This is usually done to extend the striking range of suction feeding, and the retraction of the jaw after protrusion can also help retrieval once the prey has been engulfed.

Another example of mouthpart protrusion is seen in dragonfly larvae (nymphs), which have hydraulic lower mandibles that can extend rapidly, protruding forward to seize prey and bring it to the top jaw.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gonzalez|first=Robbie|date=13 November 2014|title=What Do This Dragonfly's Prehensile Mouthparts Have To Do With Its Anus?|url=https://gizmodo.com/how-is-this-dragonflys-prehensile-mouthpart-connected-t-1658069078|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-03|website=Gizmodo|language=en-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182243/https://gizmodo.com/how-is-this-dragonflys-prehensile-mouthpart-connected-t-1658069078 |archive-date=2021-07-09 }}</ref>

== Pivot feeding == Pivot feeding is a method to transport the mouth towards the prey by an upward turning of the head, which is pivoting on the neck joint. Pipefish such as sea horses and sea dragons are specialized on this feeding mechanism.<ref name="lussanet">{{cite journal | last1 = de Lussanet | first1 = M. H. E. | last2 = Muller | first2 = M. | year = 2007 | title = The smaller your mouth, the longer your snout: predicting the snout length of ''Syngnathus acus'', ''Centriscus scutatus'' and other pipette feeders| journal = J. R. Soc. Interface | volume = 4 | issue = 14| pages = 561–573 | doi = 10.1098/rsif.2006.0201 | pmid = 17251161 | pmc = 2373409 }}</ref> With prey capture times of down to 5&nbsp;ms (shrimpfish ''Centriscus scutatus'') this method is used by the fastest feeders in the animal kingdom.

The secret of the speed of pivot feeding is in a locking mechanism, in which the hyoid arch is folded under the head and is aligned with the urohyal which connects to the shoulder girdle. A four-bar linkage at first locks the head in a ventrally bent position by the alignment of two bars. The release of the locking mechanism jets the head up and moves the mouth toward the prey within 5–10&nbsp;ms. The trigger mechanism of unlocking is debated, but is probably in lateral adduction.

<gallery widths="200px"> File:Black Sea fauna Seahorse.JPG|Seahorses rely on stealth to ambush small prey such as copepods. They use pivot feeding to catch the copepod, which involves rotating their snout at high speed and then sucking in the copepod.<ref name=Langley2013>{{cite web |author=Langley, Liz |date=26 November 2013 |url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/11/26/why-does-the-seahorse-have-its-odd-head-mystery-solved/ |title=Why Does the Seahorse Have Its Odd Head? Mystery Solved |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726074206/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/11/26/why-does-the-seahorse-have-its-odd-head-mystery-solved/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/ncomms3840| title = Morphology of seahorse head hydrodynamically aids in capture of evasive prey| journal = Nature Communications| volume = 4| year = 2013| last1 = Gemmell | first1 = B. J. | last2 = Sheng | first2 = J. | last3 = Buskey | first3 = E. J. | pmid=24281430 | article-number=2840| bibcode = 2013NatCo...4.2840G| s2cid = 205321320}}</ref> </gallery>

== Filter versus suspension feeding == [[File:Filterkrillkils2.gif|thumb|upright|Krill feeding under high phytoplankton concentration (slowed down by a factor of 12)]]

These are contrasting methods for the removal of food particles from a water flow: for example, by the gill rakers of fish, the baleen of whales, or the ostia of sponges.

=== Filter feeding === In filter feeding, the water flow is primarily generated by the organism itself, for example by creating a pressure gradient, by active swimming, or by ciliary movements.

=== Suspension feeding === In suspension feeding, the water flow is primarily external and the particles themselves move with respect to the ambient water flow, such as in sea lilies.

==See also== * Cleaner fish * Feeding behaviour of fish * Lepidophagy * List of feeding behaviours * Paedophagy

== References == {{reflist|30em}}

== External links == * FishBase is a comprehensive database of bony fishes: [http://www.fishbase.org/search.php /fishbase.org]

{{feeding|state=expand}} {{diversity of fish}}

Category:Predation Category:Marine biology Category:Biomechanics