PHOTO: SHARIF SARWAR

Clinging to the reef floor, a colourful sea anemone sways its soft, translucent pink-tipped tentacles like a blooming flower in the Bay of Bengal off Saint Martin’s Island. Found in tropical and temperate oceans worldwide, sea anemones inhabit coral reefs, rocky crevices, sandy seabeds, and tidal zones. Though flower-like in appearance, they are carnivorous predators, using venom-filled stinging cells to capture plankton, crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish. Some species form symbiotic relationships with clownfish and algae, creating miniature underwater ecosystems. Sea anemones play an important ecological role by linking reef and seabed food chains while sheltering many marine creatures. Most species have not been individually assessed by the IUCN, though many face threats from ocean warming, pollution, reef destruction, and overcollection for the aquarium trade.