Some peculiarities in the behavioral reactions of the lophophore and the trophic structuring of the colonies of the post-Paleozoic Stenolaemata (bryozoa)

Abstract

Some peculiarities in the behavioral reactions of the lophophore, a feeding apparatus of the living marine bryozoans, are discussed. In bryozoans of the class Stenolaemata the position of the lophophore is regulated by the autozooidal peristome. In post-Paleozoic Stenolaemata the individual and collective activities of the lophophores are determined by the peculiarities in the trophic structuring of colonies, which are established based on the individual or group arrangement of autozooidal apertures. Two main types of the trophic structuring are distinguished: individual and group structuring. The adaptive significance of the trophic structuring consists in the effective extracting of food particles from water currents. In combination with the peculiarities of the colonial organization of post-Paleozoic Stenolaemata, the types of trophic structuring of colonies can be used when characterizing taxa of different levels.