By Kathryn Myrsell

Westport Aquarium

For the Daily World

Aggregating Anemones, Anthopleura elegantissima farm their food and eat their food all within about an inch from their mouth. These anemones are visible on the rocky beach area of Half Moon Bay in Westport. Often they are covered in sand and darker green with a pink edge. The green color comes from algae that live in the anemone. The anemone can move its body like a solar panel toward the sun and help the algae with the process of photosynthesis. When the anemones move into the aquarium where they don’t have access to direct sunlight the anemones turn white and lose their green color. These anemones are prolific, perhaps it is because they can simply split apart to create new anemones.