A spongivore is an organism that feeds primarily on animals of the Phylum In biology, a phylum [note 1] is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division Porifera Sponges are animals of the phylum Porifera . Their bodies consist of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells. While all animals have unspecialized cells that can transform into specialized cells, sponges are unique in having some specialized cells that can transform into other types, often migrating between the main cell, commonly called sea sponges.

Examples

The hawksbill turtle The hawksbill turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while Eretmochelys imbricata bissa is found in the Indo-Pacific region is one of the few animals known to feed primarily on sponges. It is the only known spongivorous reptile.[1] Sponges of various select species constitute up to 95% of the diets of Caribbean The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/; Dutch Caraïben ; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe) is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of hawksbill turtle populations.[2]

Pomacanthus imperator, the emperor angelfish, is a known spongivorous coral reef fish.[3][4]

Certain species of Nudibranchs are known to feed selectively on specific species of sponges.

References

  1. ^ "Species Booklet: Hawksbill sea turtle". Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service. Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries. http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/species/display.asp?id=030073. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  2. ^ Meylan, Anne (1988 1988 was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)-01-12 January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 353 days remaining until the end of the year). "Spongivory in Hawksbill Turtles: A Diet of Glass". Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 239 (4838): 393–395. doi The Digital Object Identifier System is a managed system for persistent identification of content-related entities on digital networks . These entities may be content items (digital files, physical objects, abstract works), or any related entities in a content transaction (e.g. licenses, parties, etc.). "DOI" is sometimes used to mean:10.1126/science.239.4838.393. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0036-8075%2819880122%293%3A239%3A4838%3C393%3ASIHTAD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  3. ^ Thacker, Robert W.; Mikel A. Becerro, Wilfred A. Lumbang, and Valerie J. Paula (1997 1997 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar)-08-19 August 19 is the 231st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 134 days remaining until the end of the year). "Allelopathic interactions between sponges on a tropical reef" ( – Scholar search). Ecology (Ecological Society of America) 79 (5): 1740–1750. http://www.esajournals.org/esaonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0012-9658&volume=79&issue=5&page=1740. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  4. ^ Ferreira, C. E. L.; S. R. Floeter, J. L. Gasparini, B. P. Ferreira and J. C. Joyeux (2004). "Trophic structure patterns of Brazilian reef fishes: a latitudinal comparison". Journal of Biogeography (Blackwell Publishing) 31 (7): 1093–1106. doi The Digital Object Identifier System is a managed system for persistent identification of content-related entities on digital networks . These entities may be content items (digital files, physical objects, abstract works), or any related entities in a content transaction (e.g. licenses, parties, etc.). "DOI" is sometimes used to mean:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01044.x. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2004.01044.x?journalCode=jbi. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
This ecology Ecology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with their environment. The environment of an organism includes all external factors, including abiotic ones such as climate and geology, and biotic factors, including members of the same species (conspecifics) and other species-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Feeding behaviours Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffix -vore from Latin vorare, meaning 'to devour', or phagy, from Greek φαγειν, meaning 'to eat'
Carnivores A carnivore , meaning 'meat eater' (Latin carne meaning 'flesh' and vorare meaning 'to devour'), is an animal that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of vertebrate and/or invertebrate animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging. Animals that depend solely on animal flesh for their
adult Hematophagy Hematophagy is the habit of certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words, haima "blood" and phagein "to eat"). Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious proteins and lipids that can be taken without enormous effort, hematophagy has evolved as a preferred form of feeding in many small animals such as worms · Insectivore Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments. In Queensland pastures, for example, it is normal to have a greater total weight of Scarabaeidae larvae under the surface than of the beef cattle grazing above it · Lepidophagy Fish scales are a surprisingly nutritional food source, containing layers of keratin and enamel, as well as a dermal portion and a layer of protein-rich mucus. They are a rich source of calcium phosphate. However, the energy expended to make a strike versus the amount of scales consumed per strike puts a limit on the size of the lepidophage; such · Man-eater Man-eater is a colloquial term for an animal that adds humans to its diet. Although human beings can be attacked by many kinds of animals, man-eaters are those that have incorporated human flesh into their usual diet. Most reported cases of man-eaters have involved wolves, tigers, leopards, lions, crocodiles, alligators, and sharks. However, they · Molluscivore · Mucophagy · Myrmecophagy · Ophiophagy Ophiophagy is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which hunt and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals (such as the skunks and the mongooses), birds (such as snake eagles, the Secretary Bird, and some hawks), lizards (such as Crotaphytus collaris), and even other snakes, such as the Central and South American · Piscivore Some animals, like the sea lion, or alligator, are not completely piscivores, while others, like the Aquatic Genet, are strictly dependent on fish for food. The name piscivore is derived from the Latin word for fish, "piscis" · Spongivore
reproductive Oophagy Oophagy is the practice of embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother's uterus · Ovophagy Ovophagy is a rare though widely observed condition in the reproduction of certain animals, whereby fetuses will devour each other prior to birth. Subsequent research has shown ovophagy to be sporadic and highly uncommon among the vast majority of animal species · Paedophagy Paedophagy literally means the "consumption of children". It is a term used to describe the feeding behaviour of fish, or other animals, whose diet is partially, or primarily the eggs or larvae of other animals. The term is frequently applied to various species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi of the genera Caprichromis, · Placentophagy Placentophagy is the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after childbirth · Breastfeeding Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. Most mothers can breastfeed for six months or more, without the addition of infant formula or solid food · Weaning Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk
cannibalistic Cannibalism · Human cannibalism Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other humans · Self-cannibalism Self-cannibalism is the practice of eating oneself, also called autocannibalism, or autosarcophagy. A similar term which is applied differently is autophagy, which specifically denotes the normal process of self-degradation by cells. Whilst almost an exclusive term for this process, autophagy nonetheless has occasionally made its way into more · Sexual cannibalism
Herbivores Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as a herbivore, consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, some protists and a small number of parasitic plants can be considered herbivores. However, herbivory is generally restricted Folivore In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose and relatively little energy. For this reason folivorous animals tend to have long digestive tracts and slow metabolisms. Many enlist the help of symbiotic bacteria to release the nutrients in their diet · Frugivore A frugivore is a fruit eater. It can be any type of of herbivore, omnivore or carnivore where fruit is a preferred food type. Frugivory is a very common diet choice. For example, 20% of herbivorous mammals could be sub-classed as frugivore/herbivore if such a classification existed in science. Since frugivorous/herbivores eat a lot of fruit they · Graminivore In zoology, a graminivore is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass (specifically "true" grasses; plants of the family Poaceae). The word is derived from Latin graminis, meaning "grass", and vorare, meaning "to eat." Graminivory is a form of grazing · Granivore Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source (Hulme and Benkman 2002), in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates and invertebrates (especially mammals, · Nectarivore In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum , and Geckos (genus Phesulma) in Mauritius. The · Palynivore In zoology, a palynivore is an herbivorous animal which selectively eats the nutrient-rich pollen produced by angiosperms and gymnosperms. Most true palynivores are insects or mites. The category in its strictest application includes essentially all bees, and a few different kinds of wasps, as pollen is often the only solid food consumed by all · Xylophagy Xylophagy is a term used in ecology to describe the habits of an herbivorous animal whose diet consists primarily of wood. The word derives from Greek ξυλοφάγος (xulophagos) "eating wood", from ξύλον (xulon) "wood" + φάγειν (phagein) "to eat" and it was an ancient Greek name for a kind of a worm · Osteophagy Osteophagy is the practice whereby herbivores consume bones. This practice usually occurs place in a nutrient-deficient environment. The animals consume the bones in order to obtain such necessary elements as phosphorus and calcium
Others Bacterivore Bacterivores are free-living, generally heterotrophic organisms, exclusively microscopic, which obtain energy and nutrients primarily or entirely from the consumption of bacteria. Many species of amoeba are bacterivores, as well as other types of protozoans. In common all species of bacteria will be prey. But spores of some species like · Coprophagia Coprophagia is the consumption of feces, from the Greek κόπρος copros and φαγεῖν phagein ("to eat"). Many animal species practice coprophagia as a matter of course; other species do not normally consume feces but may do so under unusual conditions · Detritivore Detritivores, also known as detritus feeders or saprophages, are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus . By doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles · Fungivore A fungivore or mycophage is any animal that primarily or solely feeds upon living members of the fungus kingdom. Fungivory is a type of predation, and is an important part of the soil food web. However, some animals that are quite strictly herbivorous, such as wombats, will consume fungi if they are available · Geophagy Geophagy is the practice of eating earthy or soil-like substances such as clay, and chalk, in order to obtain essential nutrients such as sulfur and phosphorus from the soil. This practice is widespread among animals in the wild, as well as in human societies. Human geophagy is closely related to pica, a classified eating disorder in the DSM-IV · Omnivore Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively. Pigs are one well-known example of an omnivore. Crows are another example of an omnivore that many people see every day. Humans are also
Methods Apex predator Apex predators is a predator that has virtually no predators of its own, residing at the top of its food chain. Apex predator species are often at the end of long food chains, where they have a crucial role in maintaining the health of ecosystems · Bottom feeding A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. The body of water could be the ocean, a lake, a river, or an aquarium. "Bottom feeder" is a general term which is used particularly in the context of aquariums. More specific terms for bottom feeders are: groundfish, demersal fish and benthos · Browsing Browsing is a type of predation in which a herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high growing, generally woody, plants such as shrubs. This is contrasted with grazing predation, usually associated with animals feeding on grass or other low vegetation. An example of this dichotomy are goats (which are browsers) and sheep (which are · Hypercarnivore A hypercarnivore is an animal that exclusively eats meat. Some examples include dolphins, eagles, snakes, marlin, most sharks, and such invertebrates as octopuses and sea stars. Additionally, this term is also used in paleobiology to describe taxa of animals which have an increased slicing component of their dentition relative to the grinding · Filter feeding Filter feeders are animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feeding are clams, krill, sponges, some fish and sharks, and baleen whales. Some birds, such as flamingos, are also filter feeders. Filter · Grazing Grazing generally describes a type of predation in which an herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs (such as algae). Grazing differs from true predation because the organism being eaten is not killed, and it differs from parasitism as the two organisms do not live together, nor is the grazer necessarily so limited in · Kleptoparasitism Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism is a form of feeding where one animal takes prey from another that has caught, killed, or otherwise prepared the prey, including stored food (as in the case of cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs on the pollen masses made by other bees). Kleptoparasitism is also the 'stealing' of nest material or other inanimate · Scavenging Scavenging, or necrophagy, is a carnivorous feeding behaviour in which a predator consumes corpses or carrion that were not killed to be eaten by the predator or others of its species. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by contributing to the decomposition of dead animal remains. Decomposers complete this process, by consuming the · Trophallaxis
Predation · Antipredator adaptation · Carnivorous plant · Carnivorous fungus · Carnivorous protist · Category:Eating behaviors

 

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