Filter-Feeding in Marine Invertebrates, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Considering the dominant role of phytoplankton in primary production in the sea and oceans, it is understandable that filter-feeding is widespread and filter feeders (or suspension feeders) are found in almost all marine and aquatic animal classes. Filter-feeding animals are necessary links between suspended food particles (phytoplankton, free-living bacteria, and other members of the microbial loop) and higher trophic levels in marine food webs. In addition to many holo- and meroplanktonic organisms, such as copepods, pelagic tunicates, and invertebrate larvae that graze on phytoplankton and other food particles in the water column, many filter-feeding animals such as bivalves, polychaetes, ascidians, bryozoans, and sponges graze on phytoplankton in the near-bottom water. Particularly in shallow coastal waters and fjords, dense populations of filter-feeders may exert a pronounced grazing impact, which may keep the water clear (but not clean) in eutrophicated areas. On the contrary, dense populations of filter-feeding jellyfish and ctenophores in such areas may exert a pronounced predation impact on grazing zooplankton, resulting in phytoplankton blooms and making the water green. In addition, blooms of open-ocean filter-feeding pelagic tunicates such as pyrosomes and salps can control the populations of primary and secondary producers.

This Special Issue focuses on several related topics: bioenergetics and energy budgets, filter-pumps, particle capture mechanisms and retention efficiency, the grazing impact of filter feeders, the predation impact of jellyfish and ctenophores as well as the grazing impact of pelagic tunicates, and interactions between jellyfish and other zooplankton.

We invite researchers to submit articles that advance our understanding of filter-feeding in marine invertebrates.

Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrik Riisgård
Dr. Florian Lüskow
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• filter-feeding in marine invertebrates (planktonic and benthic species)
• bioenergetics (food uptake, assimilation, respiration, energy budgets)
• biological filter-pumps (design, function, energy cost)
• particle capture (mechanisms, retention efficiency)
• population grazing impact of filter-feeders
• predation impact of jellyfish