Friday, January 06, 2006


Now for the good part...While it's difficult to find information specific to the spawning process of Hadden's Sea Anemones, there are current sources such as The University of Kansas, Biodiversity Research Center which discuss anemone reproduction. According to the BRC, anemones "reproduce sexually. An individual of some species may produce both eggs and sperm; host anemones appear to have separate sexes" [emphasis mine]. This is assertion that host anemones are either male or female is supported by the work of Anna Scott, from the Southern Cross University in northern New South Wales. Scott filmed anemones spawning (apparently for the first time in 2003) and noted that the release of eggs from the female are likely triggered by the release of sperm from the male anemone. Fertilization, she said, only takes place once the eggs and sperm connect in the water column.