Deep-Sea Anemones of the Marshall Islands

While exploring the deep ocean within the the Bikar and Bokak National Marine Sanctuary of the Marshall Islands, our team came across a variety of deep-sea anemones. These predatory marine invertebrate animals in the Order Actiniaria are an integral part of the deep-sea ecosystem. Our Corps of Exploration filmed a dinner-plate-sized individual in the Actinostoloidea subfamily with polychaete scale worms scavenging around its mouth. Check out the pedal disk of a Venus fly trap anemone (Actinoscyphia sp.) wrapped around a sponge stalk and even an anemone on the move being carried as a “backpack” symbiotically by a homolid crab! Learn more about the ecology and biology of anemones in this highlight video.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an atoll-based country of over 1,200 islands surrounded by 2.13 million square kilometers of ocean, the vast majority of which has never been mapped or surveyed. Despite data gaps, it’s known that the deep sea of Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ hosts rich and diverse marine resources, including these amazing animals, over 300 unexplored seamounts, extensive deep-sea ridges, and escarpments. This expedition was developed in collaboration and consultation with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority and other local stakeholders and funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.