Diet of the sea anemone Anthopleura nigrescens: composition and variation between daytime and nighttime high tides

Abstract

Background: The diverse feeding habits of sea anemones have led them to be classified as opportunistic polyphagous predators. However, most studies have focused on the diet of temperate sea anemones, and little is known about the trophic ecology of tropical species and their role in tropical ecosystems. We studied the diet of the intertidal sea anemone Anthopleura nigrescens by examining the gut contents of specimens collected at two sites on Costa Rica's Pacific coast, testing for differences in prey items captured between daytime and nighttime high tides. Results: We found 25 prey items including: mollusks, crustaceans, annelids, insects and eggs. Juvenile bivalves, barnacle cyprids, and copepods were the main prey items. The anemones at Playa Dominical captured significantly more juvenile bivalves during nighttime high tides, and those at Mata de Limón captured more cyprids during daytime high tides. Conclusions: This study shows that A. nigrescens is an opportunistic polyphagous predator, like most of its temperate counterparts.

Autochthony and isotopic niches of benthic fauna at shallow-water hydrothermal vents

“…Sea anemones and corals are sessile but have tentacles to facilitate capturing zooplankton, which are a major source of their energy and essential nutrients (e.g., proteins, fatty acids) 40 , 41 . Tubastraea corals do not have symbiotic zooxanthellae and are exclusively suspension feeders 42 , unlike other Scleractinia corals that have photosynthetic symbionts for trophic support 43 , 44 . Slipper limpets do not have specialized structures for capturing prey, but along with suspension feeding, they might have foraged over a wider area closer to the seafloor and ingested more algae and POM.…”

Trophic ecology of the intertidal sea anemone Bunodosoma zamponii (Cnidaria, Actiniaria): diet composition, seasonal variation and trophic parameters

“…The results of this study also suggest that the diet of B. zamponii is not so much wider than that found for other species of sea anemones. Some of them consume between 20 and 40 different preys depending on the species and their location (Chintiroglou & Koukouras 1992, Kruger & Griffiths 1996, Tsurpalo & Kostina 2003, Davenport et al 2011, Quesada et al 2014, and other species such as Aulactinia sp. can feed on up to 53 different items (Tsurpalo & Kostina 2003).…”

“…On the other hand, amphipods, decapods and isopods appear as the most frequently ingested prey for a large number of macrophagous species (Shick 1991, Chintiroglou & Koukouras 1992, Acuña et al 2001. Other sea anemones feed mostly on zooplanktonic organisms (Williams 1972, Purcell 1977, Quesada et al 2014, and organic detritus and mineral particles represent an important food source for some species (Chintiroglou & Koukouras 1992, Tsurpalo & Kostina 2003.…”

On the food of the Antarctic sea anemoneUrticinopsis antarcticaCarlgren, 1927 (Actiniidae, Actiniaria, Anthozoa)

“…However, it does not mean that a species may not have a regular diet in which one or two items predominate (Stephenson, 1928). Moreover factors of environment (depths, different types of substrata, wave action) and time (seasons, daytime and night time) influence the accessibility of prey in communities and indirectly to the diet of sea anemones (see Chintiroglou & Koukouras, 1992; Kruger & Griffiths, 1996; Davenport et al ., 2011; Quesada et al ., 2014).…”