| Geology 105 - Paleontology | ||||||
| Course Syllabus | Course Schedule | Assignments | Course Handouts | Critter Charts | Department Home Page | Kusnick Home Page |
Ecology of Marine Invertebrates:
Feeding:
Feeding Type |
Explanation |
Example (compared to terrestrial animals) |
| predators | hunters (Many marine predators are also scavengers) | terrestrial - lion marine - shark |
| scavengers | eat dead things | terrestrial - vulture marine - crabs |
| grazers | eat plant material, usually algae | terrestrial - cattle marine - snail |
| filter feeders | filter sea water for organic particles, eat them | terrestrial - no such niche marine - clams |
| deposit feeders | ingest sediment, digest organic material, excrete the rest | terrestrial - earth worm marine - sand dollars |
Life Habit
Name |
Lives Where? |
|
| lives in water column: | ||
| planktonic | float | forams, krill |
| nektonic | swim | fish |
| lives at bottom (benthic): | ||
| epifauna | lives on bottom | crab |
| infauna | lives in bottom | clam |