Utilization of a fecal mass as food by the pelagic mysis larva of the penaeid shrimp Solenocera atlantidis

The undetached peritrophic membrane of the mysis shrimp larva (Solenocera atlantidis) provides a substratum on which microbes, organic debris and planktonic organisms accumulate. Behavioral, metabolic and biochemical data indicate that this fecal mass serves as a concentrated food resource for the larva.