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Editorial: Mechanisms and ecology of suspended-particle capture in marine systems
Summary
This editorial introduces a special issue on particle capture mechanisms in marine systems, covering topics from filter feeding to larval settlement and microplastic fate. The collection explores the physical and biological processes that govern how particles — including microplastics — interact with surfaces and organisms in the ocean.
The movements of water and suspended particles (inert or alive) are among the most 15 fundamental dynamical aspects of oceans, underlying numerous biological, physical, chemical, and 16 geological processes. The mechanisms by which particles make contact with and adhere to surfaces 17 are major determinants of animal feeding, trophic interactions, larval and propagule settlement, 18 seagrass pollination, viral infection, microbe-mineral interaction, fates of microplastics, particle 19 aggregation, sediment deposition, and more. Research in all these areas is united by the need to 20 understand fundamental aspects of hydrodynamics and particle dynamics that drive contact of 21 particles with surfaces or with each other, and factors that constrain the net capture of particles. 22 Suspended particle capture is a rich, interdisciplinary field of study, drawing on fluid and particle 23 dynamics, filtration theory, cell and animal behavior, surface chemistry, and modelling and 24 experimentation with marine organisms. 25The papers in this Research Topic review and present advances on the diverse topics of 26 particle capture by suspension feeding in marine animals from invertebrates to fishes and whales; 27 hydromechanics of and around feeding structures; the roles of predator and prey behaviors in feeding 28 interactions; and hydromechanics of sediment deposition in marine vegetation canopies. 29Comprehensive reviews by Sanderson and Werth and Potvin critically evaluate recent 30 progress in understanding particle-capture mechanisms in suspension-feeding fishes and baleen 31 whales, respectively, focusing on improved understanding of morphology-flow interactions and key 32 emerging directions for future research. Sanderson presents the first literature synthesis on the 33 particle separation mechanisms of marine, estuarine, and freshwater suspension-feeding fishes. The 34 review addresses eight particle separation mechanisms in fishes, identifies key unresolved questions, 35 enables comparisons with invertebrate suspension-feeding processes and offers perspectives on 36 future research priorities. Werth and Potvin focus on baleen filter feeding and explain how recent 37