ABSTRACT
The investigation of feeding mechanisms among any vertebrate group is an integrative and comparative endeavor that involves morphological, physiological, developmental, behavioral performance, and ecological studies. In addition to understanding the evolution of mammalian feeding in aquatic environments, understanding prey-capture tactics and feeding performance are important considerations for trophic ecological questions since such behavior can determine prey choice due to energetic constraints (Emlin 1966; Schoener 1971; Bowen et al. 2002; Wainwright and Bellwood 2002). Feeding has a direct bearing on the tness of an organism by determining the behavioral capacity of an animal to exploit its resources (Arnold 1983; Wainwright and Reilly 1994). Performance is an important link between morphology and ecology because morphology is a primary predictor of performance and performance is a predictor of ecology.
