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Anthopleura elegantissima
The aggregating anemone or clonal anemone, is the most abundant species of sea anemone found on rocky, tide swept shores along the Pacific coast of North America. This cnidarian hosts endosymbiotic algae called zooxanthellae that contribute substantially to primary productivity in the intertidal zone. A. elegantissima has become a model organism for the study of temperate cnidarian-algal symbioses.
Aggregating anemones, elegant flowerlike animals, have a tube-shaped body crowned with tentacles. Two types of microscopic algae live in the anemones' tissues and give them their green color—anemones without algae are white. The algae supply food to the anemones, and the anemones bend toward or away from the light to provide the algae with the proper amount of light needed for photosynthesis. Anemones are voracious feeders that eat almost anything. Stinging cells (nematocysts) on their tentacles paralyze small prey animals. Anemones can even ingest small crabs and then spew out the shells.
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