Oceanic lobate ctenophores possess feeding mechanics similar to the impactful coastal species <i>Mnemiopsis leidyi</i>

Convergence in the Feeding Mechanics of Ecomorphologically Similar Species in the Centrarchidae and Cichlidae

We examined the hypothesis that fish species with similar ecomorphological patterns, but from different taxonomic groups, would use similar feeding modes. We contrasted the feeding behavior of Micropterus salmoides (Lacépède) (Centrarchidae) and Cichla ocellaris (Block and Schneider) (Cichlidae), both large-mouthed piscivores with a locomotor morphology designed for fast acceleration, with Lepo...

Comparative feeding behavior of planktonic ctenophores.

The phylum Ctenophora (known as comb jellies) consists of gelatinous marine carnivores found from the surface to several thousand meters depth. Their morphology can be simple or complex, ranging from a sac-like shape with no tentacles to large lobed forms with sinuous "auricles," papillae, and two different kinds of tentacles. This diversity appears to reflect adaptations to many different diet...

Stealth predation and the predatory success of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi.

In contrast to higher metazoans such as copepods and fish, ctenophores are a basal metazoan lineage possessing a relatively narrow set of sensory-motor capabilities. Yet lobate ctenophores can capture prey at rates comparable to sophisticated predatory copepods and fish, and they are capable of altering the composition of coastal planktonic communities. Here, we demonstrate that the predatory s...

Draft Feeding patterns of two sympatric shark predators in coastal ecosystems of an oceanic island

Oceanic Sharks Clean at Coastal Seamount

Interactions between pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and cleaner wrasse were investigated at a seamount in the Philippines. Cleaning associations between sharks and teleosts are poorly understood, but the observable interactions seen at this site may explain why these mainly oceanic sharks regularly venture into shallow coastal waters where they are vulnerable to disturbance from hu...