Ascidian suspension feeding

• Published in: Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology Vol. 342; no. 1; pp. 127 - 137
• Main Author: Petersen, Jens Kjerulf
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 26.03.2007; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Ascidians; Biological and medical sciences; Clearance rate; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Invertebrates; Less representative or incertae sedis groups: acanthocephala, chaetognatha, gnathostomulida, lophophoria, merostomata, mesozoa, myxozoa, nematorhyncha, pararthropoda, placozoa, priapuloidea, prochordata, pycnogonida, rotifera; Marine; Mussels; Sea water ecosystems; Suspension feeding; Synecology; Clearance rate; Mussels; Suspension feeding; Ascidians; Marine environment; Suspension feeder; Bivalvia; Prochordata; Clearance; Invertebrata; Mollusca; Urochordata
• ISSN: 0022-0981; 1879-1697
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2006.10.023

Ascidians are a diverse group of benthic suspension feeders. This review presents and discusses the current literature on ascidian suspension feeding including the different structures involved in feeding as well as how feeding responds to variation in environmental parameters like water temperature and particle concentration. It is concluded that clearance rates in different species at identical conditions will not vary more than within the same species of different sizes, and that variation in clearance rate in ascidians in relation to temperature and particle concentration involves different regulatory mechanisms. Finally ascidian and mussel suspension feeding is compared. It is concluded that the two pumps are very alike with regard to pump performance and specific clearance rate, but whereas ascidian suspension feeding is characterised by high efficiency in terms of particle range and costs of pumping, mussel suspension feeding is more adapted to turbid conditions.