Definition of microphagous in English:
microphagous
adjective mʌɪˈkrɒfəɡəsmīˈkräfəɡəs
Zoology (of an invertebrate) feeding on minute particles or microorganisms.
Example sentencesExamples
- Bottom or near-bottom feeding of the L klingeri animal as a scavenger or as a microphagous predator is envisaged, in a low-energy environmental setting.
- Despite these complex results, our data show that microphagous surface deposit feeders can select for particles based on size and organic coating.
- We have found that appendicularians, the most abundant microphagous metazoans, strongly stimulate the magnitude of experimentally induced blooms and that this effect can be scaled to any appendicularian density.
Derivatives
adjective
Zoology McCormick et al. found that macrophagic omnivore percent was more responsive to sedimentation than total or microphagic omnivores.
Example sentencesExamples
- Available dietary data (178 individuals from the Noosa River and Spitfire Creek, Moreton Island) indicate that N. oxleyana is a microphagic carnivore.
- The ultrastructural features of the foregut, with the presence of a mucus trapping mechanism, a relatively well-developed filter system and associated structures, and an esophagus lacking glands confirm the microphagic feeding habits of mystacocarids.
- The role of paracrine signals such as microphagic cytokines in CL aging remains to be elucidated.
- P. maraena is a microphagic omnivore, and stomachs sampled contained principally cladocerans, algae and small insects.