Meeting Abstract

S1-3.3  Friday, Jan. 4  Sessile predators and motile prey: the effects of turbulence and wavy flow on benthic predator-prey interactions ROBINSON, H.E.*; KOEHL, M.A.R.; Univ. of California, Berkeley erobinson@berkeley.edu

Suspension feeders are important components of bottom-dwelling marine communities. Passive suspension feeders that do not generate feeding currents are dependent on surrounding flow to deliver particles and small organisms suspended in the water column. In coastal habitats, turbulence and waves affect food availability, encounter rates, and prey capture by sessile, suspension-feeding sea anemones. The zooplankton prey that anemones ingest, such as veliger larvae, barnacle nauplii, and copepods, exhibit differences in swimming behavior and escape capabilities. To address how the fluid environment and prey behavior shape predator-prey interactions, we used in situ flow measurements taken above beds of the aggregating sea anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima, to recreate realistic flow characteristics in a laboratory flume. Zooplankton swimming behavior and suspension feeding by sea anemones were observed in still water and in turbulent, wavy flow. During predator-prey interactions, encounter rates and capture success by anemones were compared to determine the impact of physical and behavioral effects on suspension feeding.