Tunicates Good or Bad?

[gangrel441]

It's no piece of blue plastic :05: Here's a close-up of one. I shot this picture of a blue tunicate during our July trip to Costa Rica. The shot was taken at a site named Tortugas in the Gulf of Popagayo in the NW Pacific province of Guanacaste. You can find these all over the rocks ... usually in very loose aggregrations (not a tight colony as shown above). The common name used by the dive masters is "Blue Sea Squirt".

Blue Sea Squirt! Thanks you very much! That is the name I was searching for in the previous thread. The ones I shot were at various sites reachable from Playa Hermosa, CR.

Mystery solved!

 

[gangrel441]

Oh yeah, that's a tunicate. Both siphons are visible. Probably a solitary form. "Sea Squirt" is a common name for a tunicate. So is "Sea Pork". Why didn't you post the closeup the first time around?

The first pic posted here (and the one from the other thread you recall) was from me, Arch. Sorry for the confusion.

At least we got to the bottom of it, though...

 

[riguerin]

What's shown in the picture is what we in the Pac NW know as "lightbulb ascidian" ... scientific name Clavalina Huntsmani.

I'm not sure that the original post is a Light-Bulb Tunicate. I believe that Clavelina Huntsmani has 2 distinct iridescent endostyles (inner rods) that sort of resemble the filament of a light-bulb (hence the common name) ... it's a their most pronounced feature. I couldn't quite make these out in the original post. Here's some links to other pics of Light-Bulb Tunicates:

http://bio.classes.ucsc.edu/bio161/KFE invert photos/C_huntsmani.html
http://www.oceanlight.com/print.php?img=7022
http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/photogalleries.php?s=3483

 

[archman]

There are many species of Clavelina, with varying thermal preferences. I would be very wary of tagging a Costa Rican specimen as the same species as one from the Pacific Northwest. The ones in the Caribbean are subtropic/tropic species, for example.


As to the question about heartbeat flip-flopping, tunicate hearts possess a pair of pacemakers, one on each side of the pumping tube (heart). They switch out with each other every few minutes, permitting blood flow to go both backwards and forwards through the blood vessels. Current evidence believes this is an adaptation by the things to get fresh blood evenly distributed to organs on both "sides" of the heart.

Unlike vertebrates, tunicate organs are laid out in series, one after another along the blood circulation route. Thus the ones closest to the downstream gill get the most oxygen. So in order for organs on the upstream side to get fresh oxygen, the blood flow needs to reverse regularly. It's a lot different from a vertebrate circulation model. There are some aspects to it that are hazy even to me.

Here's another cool fact I found in my office text. Two families of tunicates concentrate vanadium in its tissues a MILLION TIMES the concentration found in regular seawater. The vanadium goes in these special green-colored cells that are chock full of sulfuric acid (to stabilize the vanadium). These nasty cells get sent into the outer skin, where they dissolve to either help make new skin, or poison little critters that try to grow on the tunicates.

I would not eat one of these kinds of tunicate...

 

[MSilvia]

What's the deal with tunicates? Are they good, bad, indifferent?

Tunicates are evil. If you turn your back on them, they'll cut your mooring line. Not only that, they'll fog your mask up, pick your pockets, make your dive computer go into gauge mode, and give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. They like to put their feet on the coffee table, stick potatos in your exhaust pipe, and then get you drunk and write vulgarities on your forehead in permanent marker.

Tunicates will fill out dirty magazine subscription cards with your name and address, poke holes in your drysuit, make lewd passes at your grandmother, and leave the toilet suit up. Do not underestimate tunicates; they will make it sound like lending them your credit card is a good idea. It is not. YMMV

 

[Tom Winters]

Is this photo a larval stage, and what happens when it grows up?

Fortunately, or not so fortunately if you live there, upon maturity it migrates to the Pacific and destroys Tokyo.

 

[gangrel441]

Warning: Pregnant women, the elderly, and children under 10 should avoid prolonged exposure to tunicates.

Caution: Tunicates may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds.

Tunicates contain a liquid core, which, if exposed due to rupture, should not be touched, inhaled, or looked at.

If Tunicate begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek Shelter and cover head.

Tunicates may stick to certain types of skin.

Ingredients of Tunicates include an unknown glowing substance which fell to the earth, presumably from outer space.

Do not taunt Tunicates.









Sorry...couldn't resist a little Happy Fun Ball humor...

 

[HowardE]

Fortunately, or not so fortunately if you live there, upon maturity it migrates to the Pacific and destroys Tokyo.

I think I saw that one, it was Godzilla vs. Mothra and the tunicates. I thought it sounded more like a rock band myself, but wow... now I know.

 

[HowardE]

The first pic posted here (and the one from the other thread you recall) was from me, Arch. Sorry for the confusion.

At least we got to the bottom of it, though...

The first pic here is one I took yesterday.

 

[gangrel441]

I was responding to this post.

Oh yeah, that's a tunicate. Both siphons are visible. Probably a solitary form. "Sea Squirt" is a common name for a tunicate. So is "Sea Pork". Why didn't you post the closeup the first time around?

I meant the first pic here of a Blue Solitary Tunicate, in this post:

Hey Arch...while we are on the topic (and I know you said Pacific isn't your specialty), I snapped this shot in Costa Rica. I am fairly certain it is some form of tunicate, and they were all over the place, but I have been unable to identify it. Any ideas?

Mine was pretty non-descript, riguerin's was much more clear, in this post:

It's no piece of blue plastic :05: Here's a close-up of one. I shot this picture of a blue tunicate during our July trip to Costa Rica. The shot was taken at a site named Tortugas in the Gulf of Popagayo in the NW Pacific province of Guanacaste. You can find these all over the rocks ... usually in very loose aggregrations (not a tight colony as shown above). The common name used by the dive masters is "Blue Sea Squirt".

Wasn't tryin' to take credit for your pic there, Howard.

Sorry for the confusion.