Suspension feeders

Of all the marine ecosystems, temperate estuaries seem to be undergoing the most degradation. Evidence for this is seen in (1) increased sedimentation and turbidity, (2) more extended and expansive episodes of hypoxia or anoxia, (3) loss of seagrasses and dominant suspension feeders, primarily bivalves, and (4) a higher frequency and duration of nuisance and toxic algal blooms, jellyfish infestations, and fish kills. Overall, these... 

Duggins, D.O. and Eckman, J.E., Is kelp detritus a good food for suspension feeders Effects of kelp species, age, and secondary metabolites, Mar. Biol., 128, 489, 1997. 

The role of benthic suspension feeders in reducing eutrophication potential... 

Other benthic suspension feeders may have increased in abundance to occupy the niche formerly filled by C. virginica. For example, in certain areas of the lower Chesapeake Bay it has been reported that 35—100% of net plankton community production may be transferred from the pelagic to the benthic zone to support production of the polychaete, Chaetopterus c variopedatus and its tubes, given an ecological transfer efficiency of 10% (Thompson and Schaffner, 2001). Tube production by suspension feeders may be a mechanism by which nitrogen is transferred to and retained in sediments. Approximately 12% of the N flux to the benthos in central Long Island Sound, NY, reportedly is necessary to support tube production by the sea anemone Ceriantheopsis americanus (Kristensen et al., 1991). 

The type of substratum often determines, or at least is correlated with, trophic mode of many of the dominant animals, particularly the macro- and megafauna. Hard substrata are mostly inhabited by suspension feeders, whereas sediments are typically dominated by deposit feeders feeding primarily on surface sediments. 

The features of a suspension-feeder s behavior which make it "prudent" are not the same for all such organisms. For example, Bader (59) studied feeding on the blue-green alga Anacystls... 

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