Nemertesia antennina

Researched By	Olwen Ager	Data Supplied By	MarLIN
Refereed by	This information is not refereed.
Taxonomy
Scientific name	Nemertesia antennina	Common name	Sea beard
MCS Code	D463	Recent Synonyms	None
Phylum	Cnidaria	Subphylum
Superclass	Hydrozoa	Class	Leptolida
Subclass	Leptothecatae	Order	Conica
Suborder	Plumulariida	Family	Plumulariidae
Genus	Nemertesia	Species	antennina
Subspecies
Additional Information	None entered
Taxonomy References	Hayward & Ryland, 1995b, Hayward et al., 1996, Gibson et al., 2001, Cornelius, 1995b, Howson & Picton, 1997
General Biology
Growth form	Arborescent / Arbuscular	Feeding method	Passive suspension feeder
Mobility/Movement	Permanent attachment	Environmental position	Epifaunal
Typical food types	Suspended organic particulates, inc. plankton	Habit	Attached
Bioturbator	Not relevant	Flexibility	High (>45 degrees)
Fragility	Fragile	Size	Medium(11-20 cm)
Height	Can be up to 25 cm	Growth Rate	2.64-4.6 cm / month (Hughes, 1977).
Adult dispersal potential	None	Dependency	Independent
Sociability	Colonial
Toxic/Poisonous?	No
Additional Information	None entered
Biology References	Cornelius, 1995b, Hughes, 1977
Distribution and Habitat
Distribution in Britain & Ireland	Nemertesia antennina is widely distributed around the coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Global distribution	Nemertesia antennina is recorded in the northeast Atlantic, from at least the Faroes, Barents Sea and Iceland south through Mauritania to southern Africa, including the Mediterranean, Azores and Madeira.
Biogeographic range	Not researched	Depth range	10 m to almost 10,000 m (Cornelius, 1995b).
Migratory	Non-migratory / Resident
Distribution Additional Information
Substratum preferences	Coarse clean sand, Fine clean sand	Physiographic preferences
Biological zone		Wave exposure
Tidal stream strength/Water flow		Salinity
Habitat Additional Information	Found on hard substratum in sandy areas and preferentially settles on exiting hydrorhizal masses (Hughes, 1977).
Distribution References	Hayward & Ryland, 1995b, Hayward et al., 1996, Cornelius, 1995b, Picton & Costello, 1998, NBN, 2002
Reproduction/Life History
Reproductive type	Gonochoristic	Developmental mechanism	Lecithotrophic
Reproductive Season	Insufficient information	Reproductive Location	As adult
Reproductive frequency	Annual episodic	Regeneration potential	No
Life span	<1 year	Age at reproductive maturity	Insufficient information
Generation time	<1 year	Fecundity	Variable
Egg/propagule size	Insufficient information	Fertilization type	Internal
Larvae/Juveniles Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential 10-100m Larval settlement period Insufficient information Duration of larval stage <1 day
Additional Information	Life span is only 4-5 months and there are three generations per year, each featuring a period of growth, reproduction and death (Hughes, 1977). Planula larvae secrete a mucous thread which aids dispersal of the planula (Hughes, 1977) but which may also assist in getting caught in the tall branches of other Nemertesia antennina, thereby helping the species to form clumps (Gili & Hughes, 1995). Disperal of planula is, therefore, dependant on current speeed, turbulence and height of release, e.g. Hughes (1977) suggested a potential dispersal range of 5 - 50m in Torbay, Devon. Planulae also crawl (although probably no more than 2 m ) before settlement and it is possible that they attach to the substratum with mucous (Hughes, 1977). Hughes (1977) reported three reproductive periods in colonies off Torbay. Regenerated individuals made up ca 16 % of the Torbay population but these individuals had fewer gonagia (Hughes, 1977).
Reproduction References	Gili & Huges, 1995, Hughes, 1977, Hughes, 1979