What ecological role best describes the feeding strategy employed by *Wiwaxia*?

It was likely a grazer or detritivore, scraping organic material from the sediment.

The ecological niche occupied by *Wiwaxia* involved interactions directly with the substrate rather than active hunting or water filtration. Analysis of its presumed lifestyle suggests it operated as a grazer or detritivore. This means it moved slowly across the ancient seabed, utilizing its ventral structures, potentially in conjunction with its tentacles, to scrape up algae or loose organic particles (detritus) trapped within the mud and sediment layers. This feeding strategy necessitated defensive structures like scales and spines primarily to counter predation, as the feeding mechanism itself did not require specialized features for capturing moving targets.