Is Sea Anemone An Animal Or Plant
Have You Ever Wondered...
- Are sea anemones considered animals or plants?
- How do sea anemones eat?
- Symbiotic relationships: what are they?
Table of Contents
What are Sea Anemones?
Do Sea Anemones Move?
The majority of sea anemones are found on coral reefs or attached to rocks on the sea floor. They wait for small fish and other prey to swim close enough to get caught in their stinging tentacles.
Anemones can anchor themselves on the reef or other solid surfaces, like the side of a wreck, thanks to what is called a “sticky foot.” Once anchored and comfortable, sea anemones do not tend to move and will stay in the same place. They are able to move around by flexing their bodies but will usually only do so due to a significant environmental change.
Why Do Anemones Close Up?
When threatened, either by powerful currents or by marine predators, anemones have been known to curl into a ball. By closing up the anemone is better able to protect its tentacles. Certain species of anemone will also close up during the night and open again in the daylight.
How Do Sea Anemones Eat?
Sea anemones are surprisingly adept predators, even though they spend the majority of their lives motionless. Rather than actively hunting they wait for their unsuspecting prey to pass by. They are carnivores and feed on plankton, small fish and other nutrients that may be passing in the current.
The anemone uses its tentacles to inject its prey with venom, which paralyzes them, in order to capture them. Once the injection has hit its target, the anemone uses its tentacles to snatch the victim into its mouth. This method of feeding combined with its stinging tentacles means that sea anemones have few predators.
Symbiotic relationships: what are they?
In addition to being predators, anemones have a lot of symbiotic relationships with other marine life.
- Anemone fish: Anemone fish are among the few fish that have a mucous membrane that shields them from the stinging tentacles of anemones. The anemone fish will clean (and feed) on parasites that could be problematic for the anemone. In return, the anemone provides the fish with a safe home and the protection of its tentacles.
- Porcelain Crabs: You may find a porcelain crab if you look down at the base of the anemone’s tentacles! These minute crabs work with the anemones in the same way as anemone fish.
- Green Algae – Some anemones, like their coral cousins, establish symbiotic relationships with green algae. The anemone provides the algae safe harbor and exposure to sunlight, while in return the anemone receives oxygen and sugar, the bi-products of the algae’s photosynthesis.
- Commensal Shrimps – These tiny little crustaceans are also not affected by the anemone’s tentacles and can move freely within it. They help to keep the anemone clean – lookout for sexy shrimp, cleaner shrimps and Periclimenes shrimps.
- One of the most unique symbiotic relationships of the marine world is the one between boxer crabs and the anemone Triactis producta. The boxer crab carries these highly venomous anemones in its claws to use as a deadly ‘boxing glove’ that it can use to defend itself against predators!
