Trophic ecology of the intertidal sea anemones Phymactis clematis Dana, 1849, Autactinia marplatensis (Zamponi, 1977) and A. Reynaudi (Milne-Edwards, 1857) (Actiniaria: Actinhdae): relationships between sea anemones and their prey

Abstract

The feeding ecology of the intertidal sea anemones Phymactis clematis Dana, 1849, Aulactinia marplatensis (Zamponi, 1977) and A. reynaudi (Milne-Edwards, 1857) (Actiniaria: Actiniidae) from Punta Cantera and Santa Clara del Mar (Argentina) was studied using the following relations: available and ingested food, prey and predator size, and prey and predator weight. The food ingested by the three sea anemones clearly reflects the available food, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. In both locations, no correlation was observed between sea anemone size and prey size, or between predator weight and prey weight. These facts suggest that sea anemones feed principally on prey detached by wave action; the mussel Brachydontes rodriguezi d´ Orbigny, 1846 is the principal prey in the study areas.