Abstract

Published and unpublished records of amphipod-sea anemone associations are reviewed. They involve at least 22 amphipod species in 7 families, and 8 families of sea anemones. The associations are of 4 main types: protection only, ectocommensals, endocommensals and micropredators. Morphological adaptations are not conspicuous, except for the specialised mouthparts of Acidostoma spp., but most obligate symbionts show inborn immunity against the toxic substances released by the host. Sex ratios are normal, sexual dimorphism small, and fecundity low compared to related free-living species. The obligate commensal associates are usually host-specific, although able to survive in alternative hosts in the laboratory, while the micropredators and the facultative associates show low host specificity. The amphipod symbionts usually do not occupy the entire geographical and ecological range of their hosts' distribution. Amphipod-sea anemone associations have evolved independently many times and do not seem to be of great evolutionary antiquity.

 
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Bibliographic Data

Short Form
Vader, 1983, Aust. Mus. Mem. 18(13): 141–153
Author
Wim Vader
Year
1983
Title
Associations between amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda) and sea anemones (Anthozoa: Actiniaria)
Serial Title
Australian Museum Memoir
Volume
18
Issue
13
Start Page
141
End Page
153
DOI
10.3853/j.0067-1967.18.1984.380
Language
en
Date Published
31 March 1983
Cover Date
31 March 1983
ISSN (print)
0067-1967
CODEN
AUNMA5
Publisher
The Australian Museum
Place Published
Sydney, Australia
Subjects
CRUSTACEA: AMPHIPODA; ECOLOGY
Digitized
09 September 2009
Reference Number
380
EndNote
380.enw
Title Page
380.pdf
File size: 121kB
Complete Work
380_complete.pdf
File size: 1556kB