Anemonia alicemartinae
Anemonia alicemartinae off the coast of central Chile in 2018.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Actiniidae
Genus: Anemonia
Species:
A. alicemartinae
Binomial name
Anemonia alicemartinae
Häussermann & Försterra, 2001

Anemonia alicemartinae is a cryptogenic species of sea anemone found on the rocky shores of north and central Chile.[1] It has an eye-catching bright red color with bud-like structures. It is an anthozoa in the actiniidae family and is very similar to Anemonia natalensis and Pseudactinia varia from South Africa.[1]

Description

Anemonia alicemartinae can easily be spotted off the coast of Chile from its bright red appearance. They are covered in a layer of mucus while submerged. It has a pedal disc diameter between 13–18 mm (0.51–0.71 in) for a medium sized anemone to attach itself and tentacles reaching up to a length of 17 mm (0.67 in).[1] Their tentacles are normally bent towards the center to cover the oral disc which is where the mouth is located for eating and expelling waste.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Anemonia alicemartinae is distributed along the Chilean coast in intertidal zones and is one of the most abundant sea anemones in its region. They are generally found in groups of 5-10 in areas without direct wave surges. They can thrive up to a depth of 16 meters in tide pools, normally attached to bare rock.[1] Data shows temperature ranges from 13–23 °C and salinity ranges from 33–36‰ in their habitat.[1] Over the past 50 years, its distribution has increased by >1900 km along the coast of the SE Pacific Ocean, making its expansion rate around 38 km yr -1.[2] Its latitude has extended from 18°S to 36°S.[3] While its original point of origin is unknown, scientific research points to the possible conclusion that it comes from the south of Peru.[4] The location of the highest population density was found to be off the coast of Arica.[1]

As there has been a rapid spread of this possible invasive species of anemone, studies were conducted to determine its large-scale movements.[5] Conducted by Arancibia Lopez, the results of his findings concluded that the colonization of new sites is caused by two dispersal mechanisms, short distance displacement, and long distance movement, as a result of abiotic stress as well as biotic factors.[6][7] The anemone does this by using a mechanism of detachment as well as re-adhesion to a substrate.[8][9] This adhesion comes from the pedal disc, which is not very strong as this animal can be easily removed and re-attached, suggesting that human activity is another factor to blame for its increasing abundance.[1]

Life cycle

Group of A. alicemartinae off the coast of Chile in 2018.

The life cycle begins at the reproduction of this organism. Reproduction of A. alicemartinae is done mainly through fission asexually and based on the original study with Häussermann as he observed multiple scars on the organism which is a sign of fission.[1] The beginning life stages of A. alicemartinae do not include a larval phase, and the male sex has been proven to be infertile.[1][8][10] Throughout the juvenile and adult stages it disperses across chosen substrates through detachment and reattachment.

Diet

Like all sea anemones A. alicemartinae is carnivorous. They have been found to eat crabs, shrimp, sea urchins, macroalgae, polychaete worms, mussels, bivalvia, and other sea anemones.[1] They eat by using their stinging tentacles to launch a paralyzing neurotoxin from cells called nematocysts into their prey.[11][12] Afterwards, the animal uses its tentacles to pull its food into its mouth.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Häussermann, Verena; Försterra, Guenter (2001-05-23). "A new species of sea anemone from Chile, Anemonia alicemartinae n. sp. (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). An invader or an indicator for environmental change in shallow water?". Organisms Diversity & Evolution. 1 (3): 211–224. doi:10.1078/1439-6092-00018 – via Web of Science.
  2. ↑ Brante, Antonio; Riera, Rodrigo; Riquelme, Pamela (2019-10-17). "Aggressive interactions between the invasive anemone Anemonia alicemartinae and the native anemone Phymactis papillosa" (PDF). Aquatic Biology. 28: 127–136. doi:10.3354/ab00718. S2CID 203410781 – via Web of Science.
  3. ↑ Pincochet, Javier; Rivera, Reinaldo; Neill, Paula; Brante, Antonio; Hernandez, Cristian (2019-07-24). "Spread of the non-native anemone Anemonia alicemartinae Häussermann & Försterra, 2001 along the Humboldt-current large marine ecosystem: an ecological niche model approach". Peer J. 7 (e7156).
  4. ↑ Canales-Aguirre, C.B.; Quiñones, A.; Hernández, C.E.; Neill, P.E.; Brante, A. (2015-08-09). "Population genetics of the invasive cryptogenic anemone, Anemonia alicemartinae, along the southeastern Pacific coast". Journal of Sea Research. 102: 1–9. Bibcode:2015JSR...102....1C. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2015.03.005 – via Web of Science.
  5. ↑ Castilla, J.C.; Uribe, M.; Bahamonde, N.; Clarke, M.; Desqueyroux-Faundez, R.; Kong, I.; Moyano, H.; Rozbaczylo, N.; Santelices, B.; Valdovinos, C.; Zavala, P. (2005-03-01). "Down under the southeastern Pacific: marine non-indigenous species in Chile". Biological Invasions. 7 (2): 213–232. doi:10.1007/s10530-004-0198-5. S2CID 33569911.
  6. ↑ Lopez, Arancibia, Neill, D.N.; Arancibia, P.A.; Neill, P.E. (2013-09-01). "Potential dispersal mechanisms of the cryptogenic anemone, Anemonia alicemartinae". Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. 86 (3): 369–372. doi:10.4067/S0716-078X2013000300014.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Suarez, J.L.; Hansen, M.; Urtubia, U.; Lenz, M.; Valdivia, N.; Thiel, M. (2020-01-01). "Season-dependent effects of ocean warming on the physiological performance of a native and a non-native sea anemone". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 522 (151229): 151229. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2019.151229. S2CID 209578837.
  8. 1 2 Villasenor-Parada, Cristobal; Neill, Paula; Jara-Rojas, Luis (2022-01-20). "Effect of sedimentation on the adhesion and detachment capacity of the sea anemone Anemonia alicemartinae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) on hard substrates". Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografia. 56 (2): 102–110. doi:10.22370/rbmo.2021.56.2.3054. S2CID 245626676.
  9. ↑ Clark, J.L.; Davey, P.A.; Aldred, N. (2020-06-05). "Sea anemones (Exaiptasia pallida) use a secreted adhesive and complex pedal disc morphology for surface attachment". BMC Zoology. 5 (1). doi:10.1186/s40850-020-00054-6. S2CID 219928925.
  10. ↑ Bocharova, E.S.; Kozevich, I.V. (2012-02-07). "Modes of reproduction in sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa)". Biology Bulletin. 38 (9): 849–860. doi:10.1134/S1062359011090020. S2CID 28815565.
  11. ↑ Ikmi, Aissam; Steenbergen, Petrus; Anzo, Marie; McMullen, Mason; Stokkermans, Anniek; Ellington, Lacey; Gibson, Matthew (2020-10-02). "Feeding-dependent tentacle development in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 4399. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.4399I. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18133-0. PMC 7467937. PMID 32879319.
  12. ↑ Blanquet, Richard (1970-01-23). "Ionic effects on discharge of the isolated and in situ nematocysts of the sea anemone, Aiptasia pallida: A possible role of calcium". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 35 (2): 451–461. doi:10.1134/S1062359011090020. S2CID 28815565.
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