Anemones in the Bay

Down by the Bay Where the eelgrass grows Back to my home, I dare not go For if I do My mother would say… “Have you ever seen an anemone, looking for an enemy?” Down by the Bay! Tongue twister: “Anemone looking for an enemy”

If you’ve ever walked on a dock or explored a rocky shore at low tide, you’ve probably seen different kinds of anemones. Many anemones provide protection for certain species of fish (Clownfish) in exchange for the fish keeping the anemone clean and free of parasites. These fish have a special slime coating covering their scales, which protects them from being stung by the anemone. Most of the anemones we have here in the Pacific Northwest don’t have fish living with them - they prefer to eat their fish.

Anemones come in all different shapes, sizes and colors - just like humans. Unlike humans, however, an anemone has

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no skeleton. Instead, it can change the shape of its body by changing the pressure of the water in its stalk. Anemones don’t have blood, instead they use water to help them move and change shape - yes, anemones can swim and “walk” to wherever they want to go.

Have you ever wondered how an anemone eats? Or poops? Well wonder no more! Anemones only have one opening - which means its

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mouth is also its anus. The anemone will use the stinging cells on the ends of its tentacles to stun prey which it then brings to its mouth/anus & ingests it. Bones and shells are spat out.

If you are looking for anemones in the winter, you can see them along local docks and pilings. Or, if you’re in the mood, drop by the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre on a weekend afternoon- we have anemones (and other cool critters) in our observation tank and we would love to show them off!

Beach etiquette: Please be gentle with all creatures you find on the beach. The ocean is a hard place to live. If you turn a rock to look underneath, please turn it over gently, then put it back exactly as you found it. The creatures that live under rocks need their homes in order to survive.

Madeline Southern, Aquarist/ Educator Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre cowichanestuary.ca