Oxic and anoxic decomposition of tubes from the burrowing sea anemone Ceriantheopsis americanus: implications for bulk sediment carbon and nitrogen balance

This infaunal sea anemone (a common component of bottom communities along the east coast of North America) forms a leathery, fibrous tube lining 2-3 mm thick, ~1 cm in diameter, and typically extending 20-30 cm into deposits. Tube fibers (~2 mm long, 2-5 μm thick) formed from discharged specialized nematocyst cells, ptychocysts, are composed of a silk-like protein copolymer, cerianthin. Tube construction by infaunal benthos may thus represent an important pathway for refractory compound formation and organic matter preservation. -from Authors