filter feeding
Passive prey capture
Filter feeding is a method of obtaining food by straining small particles from water.
Many aquatic animals are filter feeders—whales gulp seawater and push it through baleen plates, clams draw water across their gills, and flamingos sweep their beaks through shallow water.
The strategy allows creatures to harvest vast quantities of plankton, algae, or other tiny organisms without actively pursuing prey.
- baleenWhale's filtering bristles
- spongesPorous absorbent masses
- flamingosTall pink waterbirds
- krillSmall marine crustaceans
- ciliaHairlike cellular projections
gentle giants · clams · blue whale · bivalves · manta rays · open ocean · mussels · freshwater lakes · paddlefish · zooplankton · water column · barnacles · whale sharks · water purification · drifting · gills · sieve · straining
- freshwater clams
- animal adaptationscamouflage, webbed feet, thick fur, blubber, gills
- animal behaviorsswimming, running, walking, jumping, flying
- feeding behaviorsgrazing, browsing, foraging, scavenging, carnivory
- filter feedersbaleen whale, whale shark, basking shark, manta ray, blue whale
- flamingo sanctuaryflamingos, pink flamingos, wading pools, wetlands, breeding grounds
feeding strategy
filter feedinggrazing
Feeding on pasture
scavenging · parasitism · browsing · hunting · stalking