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Particle Retention In Suspension-Feeding Fish After Removal Of Filtration Structures, Jennifer C. Smith, S. Laurie Sanderson
Particle Retention In Suspension-Feeding Fish After Removal Of Filtration Structures, Jennifer C. Smith, S. Laurie Sanderson
Arts & Sciences Articles
The suspension-feeding cichlids Oreochromis aureus (blue tilapia) and Oreochromis esculentus (ngege tilapia) are able to selectively retain small food particles. The gill rakers and microbranchiospines of these species have been assumed to function as filters. However, surgical removal of these oral structures, which also removed associated mucus, did not significantly affect the total number of 11–200 μm particles ingested by the fish. This result supports the hypothesis that the branchial arch surfaces themselves play an important role in crossflow filtration. Both species selectively retained microspheres greater than 50 μm with gill rakers and microbranchiospines intact as well as removed, …