Biodiversity and distribution of sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) in Peru

Durand A.; Valdivia-Chávez D.; Aramayo V. · Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (2024) · DOI: 10.1017/s0025315424001115

Resumen

Sea anemones represent a highly abundant and diverse group within marine ecosystems, yet biodiversity analyses in Peru remain comparatively scarce. To enhance the inventory of biodiversity and its distribution, a comprehensive review of the available literature on species from Peruvian waters was performed. Only seven well-documented species (i.e. verified records) were found representing 31.8% of the total species reported in Peru (22 spp.) These seven species are Anthothoe chilensis, Phymactis papillosa (formerly reported as P. clematis), Phymanthea pluvia, Oulactis concinnata, Antholoba achates, Anemonia alicemartinae and Oulactis coliumensis. Overall, specimens were identified in 68 localities, the Actiniidae family exhibited the highest diversity with five species (71.4% of the total), whereas Actinostolidae and Sagartiidae each contributed one species (14.3%). The highest number of scientific publications (18) corresponds to the Lima region, with over twice as many studies as other regions, it is followed by Ica (8), Áncash (7), La Libertad (6), Tumbes (5), Piura (4), Arequipa (3), Tacna (2), Moquegua (1) and Lambayeque (1). However, the studied localities are unevenly distributed across regions. Rocky substrata (∼55% of records) are the most reported habitat for sea anemones in Peru, including exposed vertical walls and sheltered crevices, caves and areas under rocks. Despite wide spatial distribution, our results indicate several under-researched regions. The growing interest in these benthic invertebrates over recent decades has revealed over 50% of reported biodiversity, yet many doubts about species described long ago remain. Potential biases in existing data require identification along with further analysis of environmental information. Copyright © The Author(s), 2024.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos