Abstract

This chapter discusses the development and evolution of feeding mechanisms in aquatic larval vertebrates, such as fishes and amphibians. Fish larva is the immature life-history stage that differs morphologically from the juvenile and adult. The time between hatching and metamorphosis may range from a few days in tropical fish species, to a few weeks or months in most temperate fishes, to years in the eel Anguilla. In amphibians, the larval stage begins at hatching, when an embryo escapes from its egg capsule. Larvae are morphologically distinct from adults and are not reproductive. Fish larvae undergo trophic ontogeny as their diet changes markedly with growth. Four types of nutrient acquisitions are recognized in fish larvae: endogenous, absorptive, mixed, and exogenous. For the embryos of oviparous and ovoviviparous fishes, yolk platelets and oil globules serve as the primary source of nutrition. Many marine invertebrate larvae are capable of supplementing their nutrition by the uptake of dissolved organic matter (DOM) via transepidermal transport. Mixed feeding refers to any combination of endogenous, absorptive, and exogenous feeding, and occurs as concurrent endogenous and exogenous feeding during the time between first exogenous feeding and complete resorption of the yolk sac.

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