By Stephen Appezzato
WEST LONG BRANCH – Researchers from Monmouth University have confirmed a new invasive species in the U.S. The beadlet anemone, or Actinia equina, was recorded along the Jersey Shore, marking a notable discovery. The anemone species, which is typically found along the rocky coastlines of the British Isles and Northern Europe, has found a new home along the coast of New Jersey.
A team of student and faculty researchers located the anemones on several beaches from Long Branch to Manasquan. In addition to these confirmed sightings, members of the public have reported possible sightings as far north as Long Island and as far south as Island Beach State Park.
The discovery of Actinia equina is a surprising one, given that the species typically thrives in a different environment.
“We don’t really have the kind of rocky ecosystems where they thrive here in the Mid-Atlantic, but they have invaded the human-made groins that were constructed decades ago for sand retention,” said Diederik Boonman, a senior marine and environmental biology and policy student at Monmouth. The jetty boulders provide the “shelter, structure and food that make for a hospitable habitat in an otherwise sandy environment where they wouldn’t survive,” he said.
Boonman first encountered the anemones while studying marine life in the intertidal zone at a beach near the school’s campus as part of a class assignment.
He and his advisor, Jason Adolf, an endowed professor of marine science at Monmouth, initially struggled to identify the creatures. After consulting a variety of scientific databases and literature, they were unable to match the specimens to anything known to live in the region.
Around that time, local beachgoers posted photos of similar-looking anemones on an online platform for nature enthusiasts. However, no one could definitively identify the species.
Determined to solve the mystery, Adolf and Boonman reached out to anemone experts worldwide. They collaborated with James Carlton of Williams College in Massachusetts and Craig Wilding of Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K., who helped the team narrow down their findings. They eventually identified the anemones as Actinia equina, but still needed confirmation.
To verify the identification, the researchers compared DNA samples from the New Jersey anemones with a native specimen provided by Wilding in England. The results were conclusive – the anemones matched genetically, confirming that the species had indeed arrived on the East Coast.
“I grew up at the Jersey Shore but spent most of my career as a marine scientist away from here,” Adolf told The Two River Times. “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with students now at Monmouth University to increase understanding of our precious oceans and beach ecosystem.”
“The next step is to expand what we know about this anemone’s distribution and how it fits in with the local ecosystem,” he said in the release.
The Actinia equina species can vary in color; the specimens discovered in New Jersey have a pale green body, green tentacles with blue tips and a blue ring at the base. These anemones are aggressive predators, using their tentacles to capture small fish, crabs and mollusks. During low tide, they retract and close up to conserve moisture.
The tentacles produce a toxin to immobilize prey, but they pose no serious threat to humans, as the toxin cannot penetrate the skin, Boonman explained. The anemones typically reside in crevices between rocks, making them unlikely to be encountered by beachgoers.
The researchers believe the anemones likely arrived as stowaways on an international vessel traveling to the Port of New York/New Jersey. According to Boonman, these anemones release clones that can float and survive harsh conditions until they find a suitable surface to attach to. “These juvenile organisms may have been discharged in a ship’s ballast water or from an anemone living on a hull, then carried by the currents from the New York Harbor area to northern Monmouth County,” the university’s statement read.
To further track the spread of the species, Boonman and Adolf are working on creating a GIS (geographic information system) map that documents the locations of reported sightings. They encourage anyone who spots an anemone to email their observations, including the date and location, to Adolf at jadolf@monmouth.edu.
A study detailing the discovery, titled “First Record of the Sea Anemone Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) on the Mid-Atlantic Coast of the United States,” was published this month in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
The article originally appeared in the February 27 – March 5, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
