| dc.description.abstract | Little is known about the taxonomy and distribution of the sea anemones sensu lato (animals belonging to cnidarian orders Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia) of the deep northeastern Pacific Ocean. I estimate that there are approximately 32 actiniarian and 2 corallimorpharian species in the deep sea of the northeastern Pacific, and fewer than half are known to science. I identified, using morphological characters, 14 of the largest and most abundant epibenthic deep-sea anemones including 12 actiniarians (of which three are new species) and 2 corallimorpharians, and determined each species' distribution. Half of the species, Corallimorphus pilatus Fautin, White, and Pearson, 2002, Corallimorphus denhartogi Fautin, White, and Pearson, 2002, Anthosactis nomados White, Wakefield Pagels, and Fautin, 1999, Bolocera kensmithi n. sp., Paraphelliactis pabista Dunn, 1982, Sagartiogeton californicus (Carlgren, 1940), and Sicyonis careyi n. sp., have been collected only in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The remaining species, Actinauge verrillii McMurrich, 1893, Actinoscyphia groendyki n. sp., Bathyphellia australis Dunn, 1983, Liponema brevicorne (McMurrich, 1893), Metridium farcimen (Brandt, 1835), Monactis vestita (Gravier, 1918), and Paractinostola faeculenta (McMurrich, 1893), are widely distributed. In the northeastern Pacific, a naturally occurring oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) off Oregon currently extends from near the shore to at least 1,200 m. It is now expanding and contains areas of virtually no oxygen, therefore threatening the marine life living within it. Nine of the species I examined (Corallimorphus pilatus, Anthosactis nomados, Actinauge verrillii, Actinoscyphia groendyki n. sp., Liponema brevicorne, Metridium farcimen, Paractinostola faeculenta, Sagartiogeton californicus and Sicyonis careyi n. sp.) occur within the current depth range of the OMZ. Although cnidarians are tolerant of low oxygen concentrations, they cannot survive if there is no oxygen; therefore, individuals of those nine species may be threatened as the OMZ continues to strengthen and expand. The inventory of the deep-sea anemones of the northeastern Pacific that I created can be used in the future to compare with inventories of anemones from within the OMZ to determine if the OMZ has had an effect on the anemones that should occupy that depth range. | |
