Lessons in ecophysiology from the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis : a review and future directions

Ecophysiology seeks to understand how the environment affects organismal processes and shapes performance. Here, we synthesize >20 years of research that explores ecophysiology using a cnidarian model, the starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis). Studies using N. vectensis as a model have employed field, laboratory and computational approaches, and have commonly entailed characterizing the responses of the anemones to biotic and abiotic environmental perturbations, including pathogens, heat, hypoxia, xenobiotics and more. These investigations have encompassed life stages from embryo through adult, with readouts spanning biological scales from gene to population. As a whole, this research has expanded our knowledge of how the environment influences processes such as phenotypic plasticity and stress acclimation, reproduction and early development, and immunity and host-microbe interactions. In this Review, we synthesize this knowledge and discuss major questions in each of these research areas, highlighting insights gained from studies using N. vectensis as a model organism. We also identify open questions for future research and discuss considerations for ecophysiology-focused laboratory experiments that are particularly relevant to the use of N. vectensis as a model. Overall, continued investigations in ecophysiology making use of N. vectensis hold promise to better equip society to meet the challenges of rapid environmental changes, pollution and emerging pathogen-based diseases.