Filter feeding

Filter feeding is the capture of small food particles from water passed through specialized feeding structures. It allows animals to obtain food without pursuing individual prey.

Cilia: Cilia are short, hairlike cell structures that move fluid or propel cells through it. Ciliary currents carry water and particles toward or across filtering surfaces.
Suspension feeding: Suspension feeding is the capture of food particles suspended in water or another fluid. Filter feeding is a form of suspension feeding that uses structures to separate particles from flowing water.
Baleen whale: A baleen whale is a whale that uses baleen plates to capture prey from seawater. Baleen whales are large-scale filter feeders that consume krill, fish, or other small prey.
Predation: Predation is an interaction in which one organism captures and consumes another. Unlike pursuit of individual prey, filter feeding captures many small particles from water at once.
Biological pump: The biological pump is the transfer of carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean through biological processes. Filter feeders can redirect captured carbon into sinking waste, tissues, or carcasses.
Mucus: Mucus is a slippery secretion composed largely of water and glycoproteins. Sticky mucus traps suspended particles in several filter-feeding animals.
Plankton: Plankton are organisms and organic particles that drift in water and cannot swim against its currents. Planktonic organisms make up much of the food captured by aquatic filter feeders.
Sponge: A sponge is a sessile aquatic animal that pumps water through pores and internal canals. Specialized cells capture food particles from water flowing through the sponge.
Deposit feeding: Deposit feeding is the consumption of organic material within or on sediment. It gathers food from surfaces or sediment rather than filtering it from flowing water.
Ecosystem engineer: An ecosystem engineer is an organism that alters habitat structure or resource availability for other species. Dense beds of filter-feeding bivalves change water clarity, currents, and habitat conditions.

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