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| Denia Port |
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| Punta negra bay between Torre del Gerro on left and Montgó mountain |
First dive of 2022. Had hoped to do a good few more but weather wasn't great all week. This subsequently affected the viz - not great so not many photos! Wore the 3mm for dives - Ok for first dive but a bit chilly at end of second. Dived with Mon Diving Centre.
1ª Ensenada
Sea anemone (Anemonia sulcata)
Sea anemones can be a nice underwater watch. They get their name from flowering plants but are actually predatory animals. Sea anemones are a popular dish in Spain. It is known as ortiguillas, 'little nettles' or ortiga de mar, 'sea nettle'. To neutralize the poison, they are marinated in water with vinegar.
Anemones can reproduce either asexually or sexually, with each method offering distinct advantages and disadvantages.
With asexual reproduction, the offspring are genetically identical to the original parent. Asexual reproduction allows for larger numbers of individual offspring to be produced more quickly with less energy expenditure as compared to sexual reproduction; in stable marine environments this is a reliable, efficient and effective means of reproduction. However, this lack of genetic diversity in offspring could collapse an entire population of genetically identical animals if environmental pressures were to swing too far from tolerable conditions. On the other hand, rapid rates of asexual reproduction allows for faster responses to environmental pressures as they are occurring and could raise the rate of survival if individual offspring develop genetic mutations during mitosis.
During sexual reproduction, sea anemones release genetic material (gametes) through the oral disk. With many species of sea anemones, genetic material from two or more distinct species are released into the water whereby sperm and egg will connect with the possibility of producing a genetically different and unique offspring from both parents. The genetic differences among multiple offspring increases the probability of survival.
