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Eats in different ways
The Baltic macoma eats
in several different ways depending on the environment it lives in.
On sandy bottoms, there are mostly Baltic macomas that filter food from
the water. On muddy and sheltered bottoms it is common that the mussels
sweep the muddy surface with their long inhalent siphons. With its inhalent
siphon, the mussel gathers small particles of dead organic material that
is called detritus. Bacteria on the the detritus is the foremost diet.
Creatures that eat in this way are known as deposition eaters.
Filterers = suspension
eaters
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Deposition eaters
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Fish and ice are dangerous
The Baltic macoma is an important food
source for fish. Another problem they have is ice. When they live in shallow
water, the ice can lie very close to the surface of the sediment and the
Baltic macoma and other creatures can suffocate and die. If all the mussels
die during such a catastrophe, then derelict areas must colonised again
by larvae
from other areas.
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