bottom-feeders
Aquatic floor dwellers
Bottom-feeders are fish and other aquatic creatures that feed on material at the bottom of a body of water—catfish, carp, lobsters, crabs.
The term extends figuratively to people who profit from the lowest or most disreputable opportunities: Bottom-feeders bought up foreclosed homes for pennies on the dollar.
The implication is of scavenging from others' misfortune or operating at the lowest level of an industry.
Barbeled freshwater bottom-feeder
- carpWhine about trivialities
- flounderStruggle awkwardly, or seafood
- soleFoot's bottom surface
- halibutLarge edible flatfish
stingray · skate · monkfish · anglerfish · grouper · turbot · plaice · dab
Organisms feeding off hosts
- leechesBlood-drinking segmented worms
- freeloadersPeople exploiting others' generosity
- scroungersThose who beg persistently
- vulturesLarge carrion-eating raptors
exploiters · opportunists · sycophants · deadbeats · low-lifes · scum · dregs · vermin
Creatures consuming dead material
- benthosSeabed organisms collectively
- decomposersOrganisms breaking down dead material
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- scavengersCreatures consuming dead matter
substrate · organic matter · ecological niche · recyclers · sedimentation · energy flow
Elongated marine echinoderms
- crustaceansExoskeleton-bearing aquatic arthropods
- wormsLimbless burrowing invertebrates
- mollusksSoft-bodied invertebrates, often shelled
- bivalvesTwo-shelled mollusks
snails · urchins · starfish · nematodes · annelids · shrimp · crabs · lobsters
Putrefying animal remains
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- opportunisticExploiting circumstances for gain
- leftoversUneaten food kept afterward
- wasteUnwanted discarded material
scrounging · salvaging · rummaging · gleaning · cleanup crew · detritus · remains · carcasses
catfish
Barbeled freshwater bottom-feeder
halibut · stingray · skate · monkfish · anglerfish · grouper · turbot · plaice · dab · hagfish
parasites
Organisms feeding off hosts
- leechesBlood-drinking segmented worms
- freeloadersPeople exploiting others' generosity
- scroungersThose who beg persistently
vultures · exploiters · opportunists · sycophants · deadbeats · low-lifes · scum · dregs · vermin · pariahs
detritivores
Creatures consuming dead material
- benthosSeabed organisms collectively
- decomposersOrganisms breaking down dead material
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
scavengers · substrate · organic matter · ecological niche · recyclers · sedimentation · energy flow
sea cucumbers
Elongated marine echinoderms
- crustaceansExoskeleton-bearing aquatic arthropods
- wormsLimbless burrowing invertebrates
- mollusksSoft-bodied invertebrates, often shelled
bivalves · snails · urchins · starfish · nematodes · annelids · shrimp · crabs · lobsters · crayfish
carrion
Putrefying animal remains
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- opportunisticExploiting circumstances for gain
- leftoversUneaten food kept afterward
waste · scrounging · salvaging · rummaging · gleaning · cleanup crew · detritus · remains · carcasses · picking
bottom-feedersapex predators
Dominant hunters, no natural enemies
alpha predators · superpredators · great white sharks · orcas · filter feeders
bottom-feederstop dogs
Those with ultimate authority
high rollers · power brokers · movers and shakers · captains of industry · cream of the crop
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