Clams are found readily on coastal South Carolina mudflats. They are soft-bodied animals that produce their own hard shell for protection. They are attached to their shell and it is a part of their bodies! Clams are consumers- they must eat food to survive! Clams filter feed on plankton and bacteria. An incurrent siphon pumps water into their bodies where they process tiny bits of organic matter. They can filter up to 1 gallon/hour! (uri.edu) Another siphon (excurrent siphon) then pumps the water back out! Clams are the favored prey of whelks. A whelk is a type of salt water snail. If whelks prey on clams, what does that make the whelk?