Reef Manta Ray

Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC

Reef manta rays are filter feeders that consume enormous quantities of zooplankton and small fish by swimming with their cephalic fins unfurled to funnel water across their gill plates. At Hanifaru they form cyclone-feeding chains of up to 200 individuals, a rare cooperative foraging behaviour observed at only a handful of sites globally. As top-level filter feeders they play a vital role in transferring energy from plankton to larger predators through their own body mass.