BENTHIC SUSPENSION FEEDERS - THEIR PARAMOUNT ROLE IN LITTORAL MARINE FOOD WEBS

In recent years, particular attention has been paid to coupling and en ergy transfer between benthos and plankton. Because of their abundance , certain benthic suspension feeders have been shown to have a major i mpact in marine ecosystems. They capture large quantities of particles and might directly regulate primary production and indirectly regulat e secondary production in littoral food chains. Suspension feeders dev elop dense, three-dimensional communities whose structural complexity depends on Row speed. It has been postulated that these communities ca n self-organize to enhance food capture and thus establish boundary sy stems capable of successfully exploiting a less structured system, nam ely, the plankton.