Abyssal Deposit‐Feeding Rates Consistent with the Metabolic Theory of Ecology

The metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) posits that metabolic rate controls ecological processes. Metabolic rate is a function of organism body mass. We tested a fundamental assumption of MTE, whether resource uptake scales to metabolism, using a temperature‐adjusted model of ingestion for aquatic deposit feeders, and deposit‐feeding rates of abyssal invertebrates estimated from time‐lapse photos. Ingestion was significantly related to body mass, with a mass‐scaling coefficient near the MTE‐predicted value. Our results suggest that after temperature correction, all marine invertebrates might be summarized into a single mass‐scaled ingestion rate, and provide insight into the potential mechanism for this assumption. This photograph illustrates the article “Abyssal deposit‐feeding rates consistent with the metabolic theory of ecology” by Jennifer M. Durden, Brian J. Bett, Christine L. Huffard, Henry A. Ruhl, and Kenneth L. Smith published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.256