Biology Commons^™

Stealth Predation And The Predatory Success Of The Invasive Ctenophore Mnemiopsis Leidyi, Sean Colin, John H. Costello, Lars J. Hansson, Josefin Titelman, John O. Dabiri

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

In contrast to higher metazoans such as copepods and fish, ctenophores are a basal metazoan lineage possessing a relatively narrow set of sensory-motor capabilities. Yet lobate ctenophores can capture prey at rates comparable to sophisticated predatory copepods and fish, and they are capable of altering the composition of coastal planktonic communities. Here, we demonstrate that the predatory success of the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi lies in its use of cilia to generate a feeding current that continuously entrains large volumes of fluid, yet is virtually undetectable to its prey. This form of stealth predation enables M. leidyi to feed as …