MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | The weird and wonderful pom-pom anemone rolls across the deep seafloor @MBARIvideo | Uploaded May 2022 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
Pom-pom anemones, Liponema brevicorne, are amazing and adaptable invertebrates. This anemone resembles an unusual tentacle-covered dome unlike the more common stalked column body associated with many other anemones. Even within the unique body shape, there is variability. Sometimes it is observed in a low, deflated position, while other times it is puffy with tentacles extended.
While other species of anemones stay attached in one place, pom-pom anemones can be mobile. Using their muscles, they can contort their body into a barrel-like shape. They roll across the seafloor like a tumbleweed in the desert, propelled by ocean currents. It is speculated that this behavior allows them to scavenge and seek out more nutritious habitats in search of plankton and small crustaceans.
Liponema may be an important link for other animals, both in terms of habitat and as a food source. Shrimp, amphipods, and even fish have been observed using these anemones as shelter among the relatively flat, muddy seafloor. MBARI researchers have also found that pom-pom anemones may be an important source of food animals such as sea spiders, or pycnogonids. The sea spiders appear to suck material from the anemone's tentacles. Luckily for pom-pom anemones, this does not appear to harm them. In fact, pom-pom anemones can shed tentacles, giving spiders an on the go treat.
Common name: Pom-pom anemone, tentacle shedding anemone
Scientific name: Liponema brevicorne
Reported depth range: 102–4,134 meters (335 to 13,563 feet)
Size: to 30 centimeters (12 inches)
Editor: Ted Blanco
Script writer: Larissa Lemon
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun, Nancy Jacobsen Stout
For more information see:
mbari.org/sea-spiders-and-pom-pom-anemones
mbari.org/fleshing-out-the-life-histories-of-dead-whales
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References Used:
Braby, C. E., V. B. Pearse, B.A. Bain, and R. C. Vrijenhoek (2009). Pycnogonid‐cnidarian trophic interactions in the deep Monterey Submarine Canyon. Invertebrate Biology, 128(4), 359-363. doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7410.2009.00176.x
Lundsten, L., K.L. Schlining, K. Frasier, S. B. Johnson, L.A. Kuhnz, J.B.J. Harvey, G. Clague and R. C. Vrijenhoek (2010). Time-series analysis of six whale-fall communities in Monterey Canyon, California, USA. Deep-Sea Research I, 57, 1573-1584. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2010.09.003
Pom-pom anemones, Liponema brevicorne, are amazing and adaptable invertebrates. This anemone resembles an unusual tentacle-covered dome unlike the more common stalked column body associated with many other anemones. Even within the unique body shape, there is variability. Sometimes it is observed in a low, deflated position, while other times it is puffy with tentacles extended.
While other species of anemones stay attached in one place, pom-pom anemones can be mobile. Using their muscles, they can contort their body into a barrel-like shape. They roll across the seafloor like a tumbleweed in the desert, propelled by ocean currents. It is speculated that this behavior allows them to scavenge and seek out more nutritious habitats in search of plankton and small crustaceans.
Liponema may be an important link for other animals, both in terms of habitat and as a food source. Shrimp, amphipods, and even fish have been observed using these anemones as shelter among the relatively flat, muddy seafloor. MBARI researchers have also found that pom-pom anemones may be an important source of food animals such as sea spiders, or pycnogonids. The sea spiders appear to suck material from the anemone's tentacles. Luckily for pom-pom anemones, this does not appear to harm them. In fact, pom-pom anemones can shed tentacles, giving spiders an on the go treat.
Common name: Pom-pom anemone, tentacle shedding anemone
Scientific name: Liponema brevicorne
Reported depth range: 102–4,134 meters (335 to 13,563 feet)
Size: to 30 centimeters (12 inches)
Editor: Ted Blanco
Script writer: Larissa Lemon
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Susan von Thun, Nancy Jacobsen Stout
For more information see:
mbari.org/sea-spiders-and-pom-pom-anemones
mbari.org/fleshing-out-the-life-histories-of-dead-whales
Follow MBARI on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/MBARInews
Twitter: twitter.com/MBARI_News
Instagram: instagram.com/mbari_news
Tumblr: mbari-blog.tumblr.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/monterey-bay-aquarium-research-institute-mbari
And now, TikTok: tiktok.com/@mbari_news
References Used:
Braby, C. E., V. B. Pearse, B.A. Bain, and R. C. Vrijenhoek (2009). Pycnogonid‐cnidarian trophic interactions in the deep Monterey Submarine Canyon. Invertebrate Biology, 128(4), 359-363. doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7410.2009.00176.x
Lundsten, L., K.L. Schlining, K. Frasier, S. B. Johnson, L.A. Kuhnz, J.B.J. Harvey, G. Clague and R. C. Vrijenhoek (2010). Time-series analysis of six whale-fall communities in Monterey Canyon, California, USA. Deep-Sea Research I, 57, 1573-1584. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2010.09.003
