Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria)
Merten’s carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii Brandt, 1835, is the largest known sea anemone species in the world, regularly exceeding one meter in oral disc diameter. A tropical species from the Indo-Pacific, S. mertensii drapes prominently over coral reef substrates and is a common host to...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pensoft Publishers
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | ZooKeys |
| Online Access: | https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/84415/download/pdf/ |
| _version_ | 1818243121299849216 |
|---|---|
| author | Morgan F. Bennett-Smith Micaela S. Justo Michael L. Berumen Raquel Peixoto Benjamin M. Titus |
| author_facet | Morgan F. Bennett-Smith Micaela S. Justo Michael L. Berumen Raquel Peixoto Benjamin M. Titus |
| author_sort | Morgan F. Bennett-Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Merten’s carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii Brandt, 1835, is the largest known sea anemone species in the world, regularly exceeding one meter in oral disc diameter. A tropical species from the Indo-Pacific, S. mertensii drapes prominently over coral reef substrates and is a common host to numerous species of clownfishes and other symbionts throughout its range, which extends from the Red Sea through the Central Pacific Ocean. Long thought to reproduce via sexual reproduction only, recent genetic evidence suggests it may rarely reproduce asexually as well, although this process had never been confirmed through direct observation and the mechanism was yet to be described. Here, we directly observed and documented in situ asexual fragmentation via budding, in real time, by a Red Sea S. mertensii in a turbid inshore reef environment. While asexual reproduction is not unusual in sea anemones as a group, it is typically expected to be uncommon for large-bodied species. Herein, we describe S. mertensii fragmentation, provide high resolution images of the event from the Saudi Arabian coastline at multiple time points, and confirm asexual reproduction for this species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T13:56:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-11292fe1fc6249c0b0d16147a3d950f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1313-2970 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T13:56:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Pensoft Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ZooKeys |
| spelling | doaj.art-11292fe1fc6249c0b0d16147a3d950f72022-12-22T00:22:27ZengPensoft PublishersZooKeys1313-29702022-05-011103576310.3897/zookeys.1103.8441584415Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria)Morgan F. Bennett-Smith0Micaela S. Justo1Michael L. Berumen2Raquel Peixoto3Benjamin M. Titus4King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyKing Abdullah University of Science and TechnologyDauphin Island Sea LabMerten’s carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii Brandt, 1835, is the largest known sea anemone species in the world, regularly exceeding one meter in oral disc diameter. A tropical species from the Indo-Pacific, S. mertensii drapes prominently over coral reef substrates and is a common host to numerous species of clownfishes and other symbionts throughout its range, which extends from the Red Sea through the Central Pacific Ocean. Long thought to reproduce via sexual reproduction only, recent genetic evidence suggests it may rarely reproduce asexually as well, although this process had never been confirmed through direct observation and the mechanism was yet to be described. Here, we directly observed and documented in situ asexual fragmentation via budding, in real time, by a Red Sea S. mertensii in a turbid inshore reef environment. While asexual reproduction is not unusual in sea anemones as a group, it is typically expected to be uncommon for large-bodied species. Herein, we describe S. mertensii fragmentation, provide high resolution images of the event from the Saudi Arabian coastline at multiple time points, and confirm asexual reproduction for this species.https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/84415/download/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Morgan F. Bennett-Smith Micaela S. Justo Michael L. Berumen Raquel Peixoto Benjamin M. Titus Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) ZooKeys |
| title | Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) |
| title_full | Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) |
| title_fullStr | Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) |
| title_short | Novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone, Stichodactyla mertensii (Stichodactylidae, Actiniaria) |
| title_sort | novel in situ observations of asexual reproduction in the carpet sea anemone stichodactyla mertensii stichodactylidae actiniaria |
| url | https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/84415/download/pdf/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT morganfbennettsmith novelinsituobservationsofasexualreproductioninthecarpetseaanemonestichodactylamertensiistichodactylidaeactiniaria AT micaelasjusto novelinsituobservationsofasexualreproductioninthecarpetseaanemonestichodactylamertensiistichodactylidaeactiniaria AT michaellberumen novelinsituobservationsofasexualreproductioninthecarpetseaanemonestichodactylamertensiistichodactylidaeactiniaria AT raquelpeixoto novelinsituobservationsofasexualreproductioninthecarpetseaanemonestichodactylamertensiistichodactylidaeactiniaria AT benjaminmtitus novelinsituobservationsofasexualreproductioninthecarpetseaanemonestichodactylamertensiistichodactylidaeactiniaria |