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Science 29 August 1980:
Vol. 209. no. 4460, pp. 1045 - 1047
DOI: 10.1126/science.209.4460.1045
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Articles

Influence of Siphonophore Behavior upon Their Natural Diets: Evidence for Aggressive Mimicry

JENNIFER E. PURCELL 1

1 Department of Biological Sciences and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106

Collection by divers permitted determination of the natural diets of siphonophore species within II genera. Siphonophores that swim rapidly to spread their tentacles capture small prey, whereas those that swim very weakly capture much larger prey. Nematocyst batteries of two species of weak swimmers closely resemble copepods and fish larvae. Morphology, behavior, and diet suggest that these two species attract large prey by mimicking other zooplankton.

Submitted on January 23, 1980
Revised on March 20, 1980


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Hidden in Plain Sight: The Ecology and Physiology of Organismal Transparency.
S. Johnsen (2001)
Biol. Bull. 201, 301-318
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