Describing the Filter Feeding of Invertebrates Such as Mussels This essay will be analysing the occurrence of filter feeding and demonstrating it as a unique adaptation for marine mammals. It will also analyse how filter feeding, combined with invertebrates such as mussels, produces a complex, yet distinctive foraging strategy. This essay will also discuss the features of molluscs and how they are adapted to use their features to aid their particular means of feeding, including the full process of how this form of consumption occurs. ==================================================================== An important necessity for any organism is that they are able to obtain their own food. They need to acquire a sufficient amount of food, in order to, maintain, grow and reproduce. An organism's competitivity for survival is the most likely effect of what drove them back to the oceans. Returning to the sea meant that marine mammals had to adapt and evolve in order to live on. One of these foraging techniques was filter feeding, found in the mysticete whales and three species of pinnipeds. These are crabeater seals, leopard seals and Antartic fur seals. Filter feeding, is by far, one of the most unique adaptations for feeding. This foraging strategy allows organisms to capture and process vast quantities of prey in a single mouth full. This, therefore, permits them to obtain energy at high rates, when small prey is collected. This unique adaptation is not found in all terrestrial mammals. Filter feeding is one of four main types of feeding. It contrasts with these three types of feeders: fluid feeders, food-mass feeders and ... ... middle of paper ... ...ace area, with narrow gaps, allowing water to slowly permeate through. Although mussels open their shells to draw in water, they often keep them closed; this isn't only due to them being handled. They also keep them closed to prevent themselves from drying out and to resist common predators. Throughout this essay I have put together a collection of information towards filter feeding in general, and how it is useful when combined with marine mammals. I have analysed the features of a mollusc and how these features help it adapt to its specific means of feeding. Which are mainly its tubing (siphons) and labial palps. I have demonstrated the individual importance of each feature and also described the advantages of having marine mammals within our oceans. This unique means of feeding is efficient and full of advantages.
T. californicus is found from Alaska to Baja in small, shallow tidepools and tidal flats in the upper spray zone where they cannot avoid the full effect of visible and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Individuals assemble in areas of lower radiation at midday, yet have no preference to the intensity of light at dawn and dusk (Hartline and Macmillan 1995). These tiny arthropods inhabit all types of marine sediments from sand to fine mud and ooze. Along with plankton, T. californicus eats microscopic algae, protists, bacteria, diatoms, algae and microbes (McGroarty 1958). When the concentrations of the species in their habitats are high, T. californicus will turn to cannibalism for a food source. The nautilus eye present in the species is rich with fatty acids and provides a good food source for the animal.
The zebra mussel is a small freshwater mussel, this species was originally native to the lakes of southern Russia. From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi, Cumberland, Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers. Unfortunately, the invasion of the Zebra Mussel continues. For instance, in 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires. That same year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels have been found in Pelican Lake, Minnesota. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba. In July, 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel in the Red River. As recently as 2010 California similarly reported invasions. In 2011 an invasion of the mussels has resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area. However, it has been accidentally introduced in many other areas, and has become an invasive species in many different countries worldwide.
Zebra mussels have now found there way to the United States originating from the Caspian Sea and sought habitation, originally, in Lake St. Claire when ballast water brought them in. From there, zebra mussels have spread and have caused havoc to the environments and its biodiversity, specifically, Presque Isle. Zebra mussels are filter feeders of zooplankton and phytoplanktons, making the water appear clearer, but not cleaner. They have negatively impacted the existence of clams, walleye and several other organisms. In order to preserve the biodiversity of Presque Isle, zebra mussels must be culled and controlled. Several methods that can be utilized to achieve this goal is by chlorination, poison, scraping, etc.
Picture this: you're having a nice weekend at the lake with your family, fishing, swimming, and having an all-around great time. But then you notice that your boat isn't running as well as it should, especially considering you just cleaned it and made sure everything was in perfect condition before leaving your house. Puzzled, you take your boat out of the water to notice that the hull and motor is covered in tiny clam-like creatures, making your pristine white boat look like something that was just drug out of the bottom of the lake. What are these animals that ruined your weekend of fun? They are zebra mussels, and are found in lakes, rivers, and other bodies of freshwater across the U.S. Normally found in Eastern Europe, the first group of this invasive species hitched a ride in the ballast tanks of ocean liners in the 1980s, and quickly spread. Regulations are in place to stop the spread, but removing them from places that have already been infested is tricky. Today we will talk about the damages zebra mussels cause, how this problem is managed, and what you can do to help.
A seismograph station is located 2000 km from an earthquake’s epicenter. Explain the order that the S and P waves will arrive at the station by using the characteristics of the waves.
J. G. M. Thewissen and his colleagues changed the way in which scientists thought about the early lifestyles of whales. The evolution of the ancient artiodactyls was discovered to be joined with the well-known group of cetaceans. The tertiary period was a time of terrestrial life forms. Every mammal walked the earth. It wasn’t uncommon to see a whale running through the grasslands or shark sleeping on the coast of a land mass. It was a time when mammals roamed freely and unconfined by the limits of the ocean. Now that scientists have this newly found knowledge, it is time the scientists further investigate “why?”
*It may move over the bottom of the aquarium tank with the tips of its
A large part of the whale's diet is made up of small shrimp-like animals called krill, which the animal strains with its plates of baleen. In order to get enough of these small creatures to eat, a blue whale has to filter large amounts of water. Folds of skin on its throat expand like an accordion to allow the whale to gulp in as much as 64,600 liters (17,000 gal) of water at one time. The whale then pushes its tongue (which can be as large as a Volkswagen) to the roof of its mouth in order to force out the water. Food is caught in the hairs of the baleen and swallowed. A blue whale weighing 75 to 80 tons eats about 4 tons of krill per day during the feeding season.
Though food is everlasting in both the coral reef and deep sea, space is very limited. Organisms in both habitats have to compete for space and survival, having defense mechanisms to keep other species from killing out their kind. Some fishes in the coral reef hide in cracks and crevices along the rocks and corals to hide from their predators. Other fishes camouflage within the brightly colored corals to hide from predators, or even humans looking into their tank. The deep sea holds many small fish, but with large mouths. The large mouths and pointy teeth help the miniscule fish eat their prey, whi...
P6: ‘The animals behaviour and natural instinct changes in a marine park compared to in its natural habitat’ (para 3).
Shirihai, H. and B. Jarrett (2006). Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals of the World. Princeton, Princeton University Press. p.185-188.
As a mariner its important to know about the marine life, that was one reason I have chosen this topic for my today’s short presentation.
A poem without any complications can force an author to say more with much less. Although that may sound quite cliché, it rings true when one examines “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Elizabeth’s Bishop’s poem is on an exceedingly straightforward topic about the act of catching a fish. However, her ability to utilize thematic elements such as figurative language, imagery and tone allows for “The Fish” to be about something greater. These three elements weave themselves together to create a work of art that goes beyond its simple subject.
Osmoregulation is an example of an organism maintaining homeostasis. More specifically, osmoregulation involves an animal regulating osmotic pressure, or its fluid content. Brine shrimp, Artemia, use osmoregulation to regulate the saline levels of fluid within their body. Because brine shrimps live in seawater, an environment with a high saline concentration, they must actively excrete excess salt. Brine Shrimps use metepipodites as the location of the ion pump which secretes sodium. This is an active transport of ions because it is moving against the gradient, a higher salt content outside the body. The two following studies describe the environmental conditions ideal for brine shrimp and the possible genetic explanation for the osmoregulation of brine shrimp, respectively.
One particularly interesting sea creature is the whale shark, formally known as Rhincondon typus it was first discovered in 1828 by Andrew Smith (Rowat 2012). This large fish is found globally in warm tropical oceans and prefers to stay within 200 meters of the ocean’s surface in waters ranging from 4.2 to 28.7 degrees Celsius (Stevens 2006). This creature can be found all across the globe in any warm tropical seas. Aggregations of whale sharks have been seen off the coast of Australia at times, although it is primarily a creature of solitude. Whale sharks are filter feeders that consume plankton as well as small fish and are harmless to humans. The whale shark is a species with a fascinating ecology, life history, behavior, anatomy