Have you ever been so lazy that you didn't want to get up off the couch for a snack? Maybe you wished you could just open your mouth and havefoodenter? Nothing too big, of course, because you also don't want to put forth much effort to chew. Perhaps just a steady stream of crumbled crackers and cookies, popcorn or little pieces of cereal?
If this sounds appealing to you, then you might relate to filter feeders.Filter feeding是一种水生的方法喂养的动物吗takes in many small pieces of prey at one time. As opposed to predators who seek out specialized food items, filter feeding is simply opening up your mouth and taking in whatever happens to be there, while filtering out the undesirable parts. Filter feeders are mostly underwater creatures, although ducks and flamingos get in on the action as well [source:Hecht].
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But you, as a human, would only want to rely on filter feeding some of the time, right? Eventually you'd recover from your bout of laziness togrillup a fat, juicy steak or at least order a cheesypizza. But some species, including a few of the biggestfishin the sea, spend their whole lives filter feeding. And though a number of creatures rely on ocean currents to bring by their dinner, for other animals, it's not about laziness. If anything, these creatures have to travel long distances to find something to eat, and they have unique bodily adaptations to get the job done.
那么他们是怎么做到的呢?为什么they do it? Is it the ultimate diet, or just an excuse to eat all day? Next we'll filter out just what's going on with these creatures.
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