BUFFALO, N.Y. — The giant plumose anemone is an animal, but it looks a bit like an underwater cauliflower. Its body consists of a stalk-like column that attaches to rocks and other surfaces on one end ...

Native to the northern hemisphere, plumose anemones have spread across Chilean Patagonia. Scientists estimate that it was likely introduced in the late 20th century via ship ballast water. The exotic ...

The clownfish-anemone living arrangement is one of the most widely recognized examples of symbiosis. Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding how anemonefish can live safely among sea ...

The secret’s in the snot. Chemical changes in the mucus that coats a clownfish’s body can blunt the sting of its symbiotic anemone partner. To investigate, she and her colleagues raised orange ...

Learn more about the juvenile fish that carry sea anemones like weapons or shields to ward off predators.

When Morgan Bennett-Smith descended to a familiar reef in the central Red Sea in September 2023, he expected to find the same tagged anemones and resident clownfish he had been monitoring for months.

A 2023 marine heat wave in the central Red Sea caused 100% of monitored sea anemones to bleach, followed by the death of 94-100% of clownfish and 66-94% of the anemones across three surveyed reefs.