How to Use filter feeder in a Sentence

filter feeder

noun
  • The find could explain how other life-forms move and how filter feeders eat.
    Magnus Wennman, National Geographic, 17 June 2019
  • Others in the group were filter feeders, and now Cambroraster shows that some scrounged the sea floor like modern-day horseshoe crabs.
    Joshua Sokol, Science | AAAS, 30 July 2019
  • Visitors are then able to look down as the filter feeders swoop effortlessly through the water, sucking up the plankton drawn to the light.
    Valerie Stimac, SFChronicle.com, 9 Oct. 2019
  • Found worldwide, these slow-moving filter feeders pose no threat to humans.
    Nick Caloyianis, National Geographic, 12 Apr. 2018
  • Brachiopods are filter feeders, sucking in water and catching food particles caught in the stream.
    Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 2 June 2020
  • The filter feeders eat plankton and small fish, outcompeting other fish for food.
    Carolyn Hagler, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 May 2023
  • The museum also features other creatures that shared the oceans with this filter feeder.
    Victoria Tang, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2011
  • The ancient shark, described on March 19 in the journal Science, was most likely a slow-moving filter feeder that looked like a cross between a standard shark and a manta ray.
    Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Mar. 2021
  • Their appendages are used to catch food, making these animals filter feeders.
    National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2016
  • Patrick McMurray: Being a filter feeder is probably the one main thing.
    USA TODAY, 4 June 2023
  • Tiny deep ocean filter feeders have been found with microplastics in their bodies, as have fish, birds, humans and other animals.
    Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Apr. 2020
  • Rather, the broad, bespeckled animal is a filter feeder, harvesting plankton and small fish from the water simply by swimming about with its mouth agape—much like baleen whales.
    Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, 8 May 2018
  • Papa paddlefish is a filter feeder with a long, sensitive nose that enjoys large, slow-moving rivers.
    Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2020
  • The greater variety of seaweeds, barnacles, and other filter feeders will, in turn, attract larger creatures, like crabs and fish, creating a vibrant ecosystem.
    Lindsey J. Smith, Smithsonian, 7 Oct. 2019
  • Detritus doesn’t necessarily have to be toxic to cause problems, as tiny particles can clog the gills of fish and the foraging apparatus of filter feeders such as mussels, sponges, and corals.
    National Geographic, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Microplastics have been found in shellfish, left behind after the filter feeders draw in and expel contaminated water.
    Jack Fisher, The Seattle Times, 20 Aug. 2018
  • Aegirocassis benmoulae, identified from fossils found in Morocco, was a 6-foot-long filter feeder that supported its massive heft by skimming the oceans for plankton.
    Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 11 Mar. 2015
  • Oysters, as well as other shellfish like clams, are superefficient filter feeders.
    Stephanie Cain, Fortune, 20 July 2019
  • The debris entangles and kills all sorts of sea animals, including turtles, dolphins, and whales, and breaks down into microscopic particles that are consumed by fish and filter feeders like mussels and oysters.
    NBC News, 21 Apr. 2018
  • Bogantes is a natural resources specialist with the Anacostia Watershed Society and recognized the potential of filter feeders to clean the river.
    Fenit Nirappil, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2019
  • What can kill you: Vibrio vulnificus, a naturally-occurring bacteria found in seawater that can infect people who eat filter feeders such as raw oysters.
    Bruce Henderson, charlotteobserver, 25 June 2018
  • Some argue the first multicellular organism was probably a sedentary filter feeder, like a microscopic sponge.
    Eva Frederick, Science | AAAS, 30 Aug. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'filter feeder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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