Biomechanics of Bryozoan Feeding
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Marcus M. Key - Dept. of Geology,
Dickinson College, U.S.A. One of the functional constraints of modular living in colonial animals is feeding. How can a small feeding individual in a colony overcome the larger colony sized water current impediments to feeding? In bryozoans, this has led to the polyphyletic evolution of colony wide feeding currents usually centered around maculae. A macula is a cluster of non-feeding polymorphs and/or extrazooidal skeleton surrounded by feeding autozooids. The maculae are typically regularly spaced on the colony surface. A monticule is a macula with positive relief. We are interested in the phylogeny and functional morphology of colony wide feeding currents in Paleozoic bryozoans. |