Anthopleura elegantissima

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Common Names

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Live in the intertidal zone.

Ecology: Background color is due in part to zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae living symbiotically in the gastrodermal layer. (see below photo) Both are able to live in the anemone at the same time. They are able to transfer carbon to their host, the anemone. Its possible that the anemone can control the numbers of algal cells that it has by expelling them in a bolus of mucus . The species can handle a high range of temperatures , but the higher temperatures do affect the number of symbiotic algae. Tend to eat barnacle molts , dead debris from plankton , and mussels that have fallen off the overhead rocks. Anemones of this species frequently divide asexually by expanding the base of their column in two directions until they tear in half (picture). Large clusters , or aggregations, of clonally related anemones come to dominate areas of the intertidal in this way (picture). The aggregating anemones have an aggressive behavior towards other anemones that are not clones of themselves, (see photo below) and maintain anemone-free areas between clones (photo). They do sexually reproduce to disperse to new habitats . The verrucae frequently are holding bits of shell or gravel (picture) which is thought to provide some protection from ultraviolet light and/or reduce desiccation. Predators include the seastar Dermasterias imbricata.[1]

This anemone may harbor either zooxanthellae (dinoflagellate) or zoochlorellae (chlorophyte) intracellular symbionts . In California, the zooxanthellae may be either Symbiodinium californium or S. muscatinei. In Oregon and Washington the only zooxanthellae symbionts are S. muscatinei. Anemones with zooxanthellae have been observed from Baja California to SE Alaska, but are more common from Washington south. Anemones with zoochlorellae occur from Cape Blanco, Oregon north at least to Vancouver Island. The zoochlorella has recently been placed in Class Trebouxiophyceae. In areas where both symbionts occur, anemones with zooxanthellae can be found throughout the intertidal but favor the upper levels, while anemones with zoochlorellae are primarily found in the lower intertidal or in shaded areas.[1]

Biology

Diet

[Migration]

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Anthopleura Elegantissima Solitary
2. Bunodactis elegantissima (Brandt 1835)
3. Bunodes californica Fewkes, 1889
4. Cribrina elegantissima (Brandt)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Fautin D.G., 15-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

It is similar to Anthopleura xanthogrammica, which is all green. A. elegantissima almost always have pinkish tips on their tentacles, and in the Pacific Northwest are usually a bit smaller in size. Anthopleura artemisia has verrucae on only the top 2/3 of its column and usually lives mostly buried in sand. Anthopleura sola, which was formerly known as the solitary form of A. elegantissima, is very similar except that it is solitary and usually larger. It was distinguished from A. elegantissima by molecular means. (Ref. 109953)

Members of the genus Anthopleura

There are approximately 54 species in this genus:

A. sola · A. africana · A. anjunae · A. anneae · A. artemisia (Burrowing Green Anemone) · A. asiatica · A. atodai · A. aureoradiata · A. ballii · A. buddemeieri · A. carneola · A. cascaia · A. chinensis · A. dixoniana · A. dowii · A. elatensis · A. elegantissima (Aggregating Anemone) · A. sola · A. foxi · A. gelam · A. handi · A. handi · A. handi · A. incerta · A. inconspicua · A. insignis · A. japonica · A. kohli · A. krebsi (Rock Anemone) · A. kurogane · A. listeri · A. mariscali · A. michaelseni · A. midori · A. minima · A. mortenseni · A. mortoni · A. nigrescens · A. orientalis · A. pacifica · A. panikkarii · A. qingdaoensis · A. rosea · A. rubripunctata · A. sola (Solitary Anemone) · A. stellula · A. texaensis · A. thallia · A. varioarmata · A. xanthogrammica (Giant Green Sea Anemone) · A. sola · A. michaelseni · A. anneae · A. michaelseni

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
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• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• Amino acid pools: distribution, formation and function of free amino acids; proceedings. Edited by Joseph T. Holden. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the Institute for A[d]vanced Learning in the Medical Sc Amsterdam, Elsevier Pub. Co.1962. ENG url p. 178, p. 180, p. 783.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 126, p. 15, p. 59, p. 60, p. 61.
• Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) ENG url p. 239.
• Energy and environmental stress in aquatic systems: selected papers from a symposium held at Augusta, Georgia, November 2-4, 1977 / sponsored by Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Assistant Secretary for Envir [Washington]: Technical Information Center, U.S. Dept. of Energy; 1978. ENG url p. 470, p. 472, p. 481, p. 482, p. 483, p. 568, p. 840, p. 851.
• Engebretson, H.P, and G. Muller-Parker, 1999. Translocation of photosynthetic carbon from two algal symbionts to the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima. Biological Bulletin 197: 72-81
• FWS/0BS. [Washington]Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. ENG url p. 147, p. 68.
• Fishery bulletin / U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service. Washington, D.C.: The Service: ENG url p. 678.
• Journal of shellfish research. [S.l.: National Shellfisheries Association, 1981- url p. 283, p. 286.
• LaJeunesse, T.C., and R.K. Trench, 2000. Biogeography of two species of Symbiodinium (Freudenthal) inhabiting the intertidal sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt). Biological Bulletin 199: 126-134
• Lewis, L. L. and G. Muller-Parker, 2004. Phylogenetic placement of "zoochlorellae" (Chlorophyta), algal symbiont of the temperate sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima. Biological Bulletin 207: 87-92
• McCloskey, L.R., T.G. Cove, and E.A. Verde, 1996. Symbiont expulsion from the anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt) (Cnidaria; Anthozoa). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 195: 173-176
• McFadden, C.S., R.K. Grosberg, B. B. Cameron, D. P. Karlton, and D. Secord, 1997. Genetic relationships within and between clonal and solitary forms of the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima revisited: evidence for the existence of two species. Marine Biology 128: 127-139
• Saunders, B.K. and G. Muller-Parker, 1997. The effects of temperature and light on two algal populations in the temperate sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt, 1835). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 211: 213-224
• Secord, D. L., and L. Augustine, 2000. Biogeography and microhabitat variation in temperate algal-invertebrate symbioses: Zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae in two Pacific intertidal sea anemones, Anthopleura elegantissima and A. xanthogrammica. Invertebrate Biology 119: 139-146
• Secord, David and Gisele Muller-Parker, 2005. Symbiont distribution along a light gradient within an intertidal cave. Limnology and Oceanography 50:1 272-278
• The Biological bulletin. Woods Hole, Mass.: Marine Biological Laboratory, ENG url p. 103, p. 114, p. 115, p. 116, p. 117, p. 117, p. 118, p. 118, p. 120, p. 122, p. 122, p. 123, p. 123, p. 124, p. 126, p. 127, p. 129, p. 131, p. 134, p. 136, p. 138, p. 140, p. 141, p. 142, p. 145, p. 146, p. 152, p. 153, p. 154, p. 156, p. 156, p. 157, p. 158, p. 160, p. 161, p. 162, p. 163, p. 164, p. 164, p. 166, p. 166, p. 167, p. 167, p. 169, p. 170, p. 171, p. 178, p. 186, p. 193, p. 199, p. 200, p. 211, p. 224, p. 230, p. 234, p. 237, p. 244, p. 248, p. 251, p. 252, p. 262, p. 270, p. 276, p. 278, p. 285, p. 286, p. 297, p. 315, p. 316, p. 317, p. 318, p. 319, p. 321, p. 323, p. 324, p. 324, p. 325, p. 326, p. 326, p. 327, p. 330, p. 335, p. 339, p. 340, p. 349, p. 350, p. 356, p. 357, p. 357, p. 358, p. 358, p. 361, p. 366, p. 367, p. 367, p. 368, p. 368, p. 369, p. 370, p. 370, p. 371, p. 371, p. 372, p. 373, p. 374, p. 375, p. 376, p. 377, p. 381, p. 382, p. 385, p. 387, p. 388, p. 389, p. 390, p. 390, p. 392, p. 392, p. 393, p. 394, p. 407, p. 412, p. 414, p. 415, p. 417, p. 418, p. 424, p. 425, p. 457, p. 458, p. 460, p. 461, p. 463, p. 463, p. 467, p. 467, p. 468, p. 468, p. 469, p. 469, p. 47, p. 470, p. 470, p. 471, p. 471, p. 472, p. 472, p. 48, p. 50, p. 50, p. 503, p. 52, p. 531, p. 548, p. 575, p. 577, p. 581, p. 599, p. 6, p. 608, p. 609, p. 614, p. 618, p. 619, p. 631, p. 637, p. 639, p. 64, p. 66, p. 683, p. 684, p. 687, p. 689, p. 691, p. 693, p. 70, p. 72, p. 72, p. 722, p. 73, p. 73, p. 75, p. 76, p. 78, p. 79, p. 79, p. 80, p. 80, p. 80, p. 81, p. 81, p. 83, p. 83, p. 85, p. 85, p. 86, p. 86, p. 87, p. 87, p. 91, p. 92.
• The biology of hydra and of some other coelenterates, 1961. Edited by Howard M. Lenhoff and W. Farnsworth Loomis. Coral Gables, Fla., University of Miami Press[1961] ENG url p. 255.
• The ecology of deep and shallow coral reefs: results of a workshop on coral reef ecology held by the American Society of Zoologists, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 1983 / edited by Marjorie L. Reaka. Rockville, MD.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Office of Undersea Research, [1983] ENG url p. 15.
• Verde, E.A. and L. R. McCloskey, 1996a. Carbon budget studies of symbiotic cnidarian anemones--evidence in support of some assumptions. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 195: 161-171
• Verde, E.A. and L. R. McCloskey, 2001. A comparative analysis of the photobiology of zooxanthellae and zoochlorellae symbiotic with the temperate clonal anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt). I. Effect of temperature. Mar. Biol. 138: 447-489
• Verde, E.A. and L.R. McCloskey, 1996b. Photosynthesis and respiration of two species of algal symbionts in the anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt) (Cnidaria; Anthozoa). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 195: 187-202

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Cowles, Dave. Key to Invertebrates Found At or Near The Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory (a campus of Walla Walla University) Fidalgo Island, Anacortes, WA.
• Hexacorallians of the World 2001.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3866515
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13617004
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 3029862

Footnotes

1. Cowles, Dave. Key to Invertebrates Found At or Near The Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory (a campus of Walla Walla University) Fidalgo Island, Anacortes, WA May 2009. [back]

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