IIMYC   23581
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES MARINAS Y COSTERAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Diet of the sea anemone Anthopleura nigrescens: composition and variation between diurnal and nocturnal high tides
Autor/es:
QUESADA, A. J.; F. H. ACUÑA AND J. CORTÉS
Lugar:
Honolulu
Reunión:
Congreso; Ocean Sciences Meeting; 2014
Institución organizadora:
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Resumen:
The diverse feeding habits of sea anemones have led them to be classified as opportunistic polyphagous predators. Most studies have focused on the diet of temperate sea anemones, while little remains 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. We aimed to describe the diet composition and the variation in prey items captured between diurnal and nocturnal high tides. We found 25 different prey items in five main groups: crustaceans, mollusks, eggs, other arthropods, and annelids. Juvenile bivalves, barnacle cyprids, and copepods were the main prey items, although A. nigrescens also captures gastropods, polychaetes, insects, and eggs. The anemones at Playa Dominical captured significantly more juvenile bivalves during nocturnal high tides, whereas the anemones at Mata de Limón captured more cyprids during diurnal high tides. This study shows that diurnal and nocturnal high tides bring different prey items that are important components of this sea anemone's diet.