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Relative Intraspecific Aggressiveness of Pedal Disc Colour Phenotypes of the Beadlet Anemone, Actinia Equina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

R.C. Brace  and
H.A. Reynolds
R.C. Brace
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD
H.A. Reynolds
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD
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Extract

Anemones of the genus Actinia exhibit a well documented, stereotyped aggressive sequence (Bonnin, 1964; Brace & Pavey, 1978; Brace et ah, 1979) involving specialized, nematocyst-bearing structures called acrorhagi, which can be directed against an opponent. Experiments on the Australian species, A. tenebrosa Farquhar, and on the clonal anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima (Brandt) (which similarly bears acrorhagi), indicate that aggression occurs principally between genetically dissimilar (allogeneic) opponents (Ayre, 1982; Francis, 1973a, b; Bigger, 1980). Once acrorhagial contact has been made with an allogeneic individual, massive discharges of nematocysts ensue, which can cause severe necrotic lesions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , May 1989 , pp. 273 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1989

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References

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