Abstract
Caprellid amphipods feed by browsing, filter-feeding, predation, scavenging, and scraping. Food acquisition is related to the presence or absence of plumose setae on the second antenna; those species with such setae obtain a significant amount of their diet from filtering and scraping periphyton while those species without such setae usually rely on predation. Two primary predators and 8 primary filter-feeders and scrapers were investigated. Substrates inhabited by the predators did not overlap, but some filter-feeders were found together. Feeding overlap has been decreased among filter-feeders that occur together, as they either feed on different sized particles or they filter at different heights from the substrate. Species filtering the same sized particles at the same heights that were found together utilized alternate feeding mechanisms, e.g. browsing on algal filaments.
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Communicated by M.R. Tripp, Newark
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Caine, E.A. Feeding mechanisms and possible resource partitioning of the caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Puget Sound, USA. Mar. Biol. 42, 331–336 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402195
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402195