Abstract
The microphagous feeding mechanism of Oreaster reticulatus involves accumulation of the substratum (sand, seagrass) in the oral region by the tube feet which simultaneously rake the substratum towards the mouth while gradually rotating the sea star about the oral‐aboral axis. On sand bottoms this results in the formation of a sediment mound (5–15 mm high) upon which the cardiac stomach is everted. Measurements of sediment chlorophyll indicate that microphytes are concentrated in the thin (1–2 mm deep) surface layer which is raked into the mound. The degree of individual mound‐building activity varied directly with the chlorophyll concentration and grain size of surface sediments.
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