Burrowing in the antarctic anemone, Halcampoides sp., from Signy Island, Antarctica

Antarctic anemones of the genus Halcampoides inhabit low intertidal and shallow subtidal zones. They readily burrow into soft sediments following disturbance. The process of re-burying was recorded using time-lapse video in the aquarium of the British Antarctic Survey with specimens of a species collected from the shallow sublittoral ( 1.6 and >4.0 times slower, respectively, compared with those of Peachia hastata from Scotland, recorded at similar to 11-14 degrees C. Q(10) values calculated from these data are in the range 1.4-3.0, and thus provide little evidence supporting any evolutionary acclimation of the processes involved in burrowing has occurred in Halcampoides from the Antarctic, although the data are limited. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.