Tunicates

Tunicates, sometimes referred to as sea pork or sea squirts, are often visually confused with sponges. This confusion is easily rectified when one touches the tunicates, which feel rubbery and hard. The use of the term sea squirt is a very appropriate one as specimens taken out of the water will squirt liquid when squeezed. These organisms are filter feeders taking nutrient rich water in through their inhalant siphons and expelling waste and filtered water out through their exhalant siphons. These are the same mechanisms which they utilize for respiration. Tunicates may be solitary or clonal, meaning that a specimen may be one individual or it may look like a single specimen when it is really many individual zooids organized to support the livelihood of the group. The species found in the bay add a colorful aesthetic to the hardbottom environment and can be diverse and abundant on many reefs.