Majano Anemone

Learn & Explore/Species/Introduced & Invasive/Majano Anemone

Category: Invasive

A fast-spreading anemone that overgrows and harms native stony corals.

Majano Anemone (Anemonia manjano)

Habitat

Native to the Indian Ocean. Records indicate spread into the Philippines and Western Pacific ¹
Ability to colonize multiple substrates, including rock, rubble, and sand, as well as both live and dead coral ²

Rapid growth paired with few known predators leads to unchecked spread
Can detach from the substrate and relocate while leaving behind tissue to grow into a new anemone
Easily fragments when disturbed; each fragment can grow into a viable adult
Can colonize a variety of coral forms, including branching, encrusting, and mounding ²
Small size and cryptic nature can lead to difficulty with monitoring and removal efforts

AIS is collaborating with NERR, HIMB, DoD, TNC, NOAA, and colleagues from DAR on monitoring and eradication efforts

Restricted for private and commercial use including for research by universities or government agencies, exhibition in municipal zoos or government-affiliated aquariums, for other institutions for medical or scientific purposes (§4-71-6.5)
Does not include individual possession of an animal as a pet

Vallejo, B. M., Aloy, A. B., Ocampo, M., Conejar-Espedido, J., & Manubag, L. M. (2019). Manila bay ecology and associated invasive species. Impacts of Invasive Species on Coastal Environments: Coasts in Crisis, 145-169.
Tkachenko, K. S., & Britayev, T. A. (2016). Unusually high abundance of the actiniarian Anemonia manjano Carlgren, 1900 outcompeting scleractinians in central Vietnam. Marine Biodiversity, 46(3), 545-546.