Honors Theses (Marine Biology)

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Anthopleura xanthogrammica Behavior Studied Utilizing Time-Lapse Photography
(University of Oregon, 2013-11) Reiser, Shannon
Animals living in a habitat affected by both tidal shifts and day night cycles display a wide variety of behaviors influenced by environmental factors and internal mechanisms. Sessile intertidal invertebrates exhibit extremely slow or subtle behaviors not noticeable during casual observation. This study aimed to observe, analyze, and describe the behaviors associated with the tidal and circadian rhythms of Anthopleura xanthogrammica, giant green anemones, in a tide pool at South Cove, Cape Arago State Park, Oregon. Time lapse video captured using a GoPro camera at a low- to mid-tidal range were used to test the hypothesis A. xamlzogrammica opens on incoming tides. Percent open data were collected from videos and these data were used to evaluate the percentage of animals open in different light conditions. I also examined the data for individual sea anemones to determine if there were individual tendencies. The data suggest that there is a correlation between height of tide and anemone openness. As the tide rises fewer anemones are closed. Additionally the data suggest that anemones are more likely to be closed in direct sunlight. Furthermore, there is a slight, but insignificant difference in average time spent 100% open for each anemone. The most dramatic shifts in behavior occurred in the presence of direct sunlight.