Population ecology of the intertidal anemone Actinia tenebrosa. IV. Growth rates and longevities

Abstract

In all, 82 adults and about 600 juvenile A tenebrosa were tracked for up to 3 years These intertidal sea anemones were free-living on the rocky coast at Kaikoura, New Zealand Regular measurements of column diameters were taken for 2 years Annual growth increments were small for all sizes of A. tenebrosa observed most increments were in the range -2 to 4 mm of column diameter per year, with the smallest anemones havmg the fastest relative mean growth rates From the growth data, A tenebrosa reaches a column diameter of 40 mm in 8-66 years after settlement From mortality data, the observed adults have a predicted mean longevity of at least 50 years and a predicted maximum longevity of at least 210 years.