Juvenlle white mullet Mug11 curema a n d juvenile strlped mullet Mugd cephalus actlvely lngested marine snow In the laboratory Thls IS the flrst expenmental venflcatlon of the consumptlon of manne snow by a vertebrate The stomach contents of fish fed manne snow In the laboratory were compared to flsh collected from the Charleston Harbor estuary, South Carollna USA and the coastal Atlantlc Ocean Results suggest that juvenile mullet consume m a n n e snow In the natural environment In food cholce experiments in whlch mullet were offered a choice between manne snow and zooplankton (Artemia sp ), consumptlon of manne snow was Inversely related to zooplankton concentrations Mullet ass~mllated organlc matter and total a m n o a c~d s from m a n n e snow wlth efficlencies of 49 2 and 55 8 % respectively These efficiencies are comparable to those of flsh feedlng on benthic detntus The contnbution of manne snow to the growth of juvende mullet was tested in growth experiments by feeding mullet different combinations of m a n n e snow and zooplankton (Artemia s p ) Mullet d~d not exhlbit positive growth on a d~e t of marlne snow (speclhc growth rate = -1 34 % d ') M a n n e snow contributed to the diet of mullet by slowing welght loss (by 5 0 % ) especially when con~plemented wlth zooplankton (an additional 5 0 % )