Well At Least it's Not Siphoning Your Gas
The
mangrove tunicate is a filter feeder that feeds on plankton and
other organic materials in the water. Sponges are another animal
that is a suspension feeder. For a look at a sponge
click here.
Water enters the Branchial siphon which is on the ventral side of the tunicate to the left. The tunicate takes in water through the branchial siphon. The endostyle produces mucus which lines the walls. Plankton are trapped in the mucus and cilia on the walls push the plankton to the esophagus.
The plankton travel through the esophagus and into the stomach for digestion. Once the nutrients are absorbed the waste goes through the intestines. The anus of the tunicate empites into the atrial siphon and expels the waste into the external environment.
This filtering also ensures that only the appropriate sized particles can enter into the rest of the digestive track.
During the larval stage of their life the mangrove tunicate is not a a filter feeder. At first they feed upon the nutrients from the yolk sack remaining from their egg. Afterwards they feed from nutrient stores. during metamorphosis they obtain their food from the absorption of structures that are not present in the sessile life form such as the notochord and the dorsal nerve chord.
Learn about this animal's life cycle and how it reproduces.
