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The intertidal zone represents a challenging environment for filter-feeding marine invertebrates. Smaller individuals are more prone to intertidal stressors than their larger conspecific; thus, reaching refuge sizes is crucial for their survival. There is no clear consensus about the morphological adaptations that small filter-feeding individuals may use to compensate for its greater mass-specific metabolic requirement relative to that of a larger conspecific. Food acquisition in filter-feedings is not only determined by the gill size but also by the efficiency of particle retention and transport rate; trade-offs between these variables may explain why smaller individuals are more efficient at acquiring energy. In this study, we examined the mechanisms underlying feeding responses in relation to body size in the intertidal suspension-feeding bivalve Perumytilus purpuratus. Clearance rate, flow rate, particle transport rate, and gill cilia …