Chapter 5 – Feeding

Oysters are suspension-feeders. How the pallial organs (the gills, labial palps, and mantle) function to filter suspended particulate matter, then sort and select from its components the particles for ingestion or rejection are the “preingestion” elements of feeding behavior. The “postingestion” components of feeding involve the further sorting of particles within the digestive tract, digestion by intra- and extracellular means, the absorption of nutrients and the egestion of undigested remains as feces. These processes are discussed and the means to model feeding and digestion in bivalves are reviewed.