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Sea anemone

14th May, 2024

Sea anemone

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Context:

  • Scientists flag mass sea anemone bleaching off Agatti island.

Details:

  • Scientists at the ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) working on sea anemones of the Lakshadweep group of islands have found mass anemone bleaching off the Agatti island.
  • Coral bleaching is not a new phenomenon in the Lakshadweep but sea anemone bleaching has been observed for the first time in the group of islands and is a cause for concern for the health of the local ecological system.

Sea anemones

●It is an invertebrate aquatic animal marked by soft bodies and has an ability to sting.

●They are a group of predatory marine animals constituting the order Actiniaria.

●Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant.

●As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra.

●Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.

●A typical sea anemone is a single polyp attached to a hard surface by its base, but some species live in soft sediment, and a few float near the surface of the water.

●They are known to form symbiotic relationships with other animals; their most well-known alliance is with clownfish.

They use nematocysts, which are specialized cells containing venomous organelles called cnidocysts, to capture prey and defend themselves against predators.

Class: Hexacorallia

Eats: True crabs

Phylum: Cnidaria

Scientific name: Actiniaria

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Source:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/scientists-flag-mass-sea-anemone-bleaching-off-agatti-island/article68164568.ece

PRACTICE QUESTION

Q. Consider the following statements about Sea Anemones:

  1. Most sea anemones form symbiotic relationships with photosynthetic algae known as zooxanthellae.
  2. Sea anemones capture prey using specialized stinging cells called nematocysts.
  3. Sea anemones lack a centralized nervous system but possess a decentralized nerve net.
  4. Some species of sea anemones are capable of asexual reproduction through a process called fragmentation.

How many of the above statements is/are correct?

A.only one

B.only two

C.only three

D.All four

Ans: B