Apollo Bay

Possible Botrylloides Violaceus At Apollo Bay Harbour

September 29, 2020 by Jade Craven

This is yet another example of mum discovering something interesting while I was in bed, sleep. My mum and nephew had gone rockpooling in the harbour when she noticed this specimen. It piqued the interest of my field naturalist club friend, who had suggested that is slightly resembled Botrylloides violaceus.

B. violaceaus differs from B. Schlosseri due to having double lines instead of the star/ring shape. And, unlike B. Leachii, it is the one colour.

I wasn’t able to photograph this exact specimen again this trip, due to being overwhelmed and not being sure what to photograph. I now have a better idea of what to get next time.

I agree that it doesn’t look like the typical Botryllus schlosseri. It could be because it is the only one I saw on a plant, and parts of the plant could be obscuring it. It could also just be the angle.

We will hopefully find out more next trip.

Marine Life Found When Ascidian Hunting at Apollo Bay Harbour

September 28, 2020 by Jade Craven

It turns out that hunting for Botryllus species means you find all sorts of interesting marine life. I haven’t tried to seek an ID for any species as I’m already overwhelmed. I do love the sheer diversity that is here once you look past the typical rockpool species.

Purple Variant Of Botryllus Schlosseri At Apollo Bay Harbour

September 27, 2020 by Jade Craven

Mum and were both fascinated by the purple form of Botryllus Schlosseri. It didn’t even click that they were the same species, because the way the zooids (I think) are structured are different. With the orange one, it’s like the flower petals are all connected but there is no center. With the purple ones, the ‘petals’ are a different shames and are connected to a center.

My analogy is crude, but it shows the difficulties when it comes to ascidians. Years ago, I decided that I wouldn’t try to identify them due to their complexity and the potential of becoming overwhelmed. It is ironic that they are now an area I’m focusing on.

It turns out that I had previously seen both the orange and purple form of this species shortly after the sand excavations in Spring, 2018. I’ll be going through older photos to see if it was present prior to this.

Orange Botryllus Schlosseri at Apollo Bay Harbour

September 26, 2020 by Jade Craven

One of the main benefits of the weekend was that I finally understood what Botryllus Schlosseri. It varies a lot, hence my confusion. However, one of the forms looks like the images I’ve featured here.

We found this in a lot of different spots in the rockpools. Mostly under rocks themselves, and they would be accompanied by other marine life. Sometimes the colonies would be dense and at other times they would be somewhat spread out.

Most of these photos were taken at night.

Learning More About The Unusual Ascidian At Apollo Bay Harbour.

September 25, 2020 by Jade Craven

Last trip, we found an interesting ascidian that caught the eye of a member of the field naturalist group. This trip, mum and I wanted to get more photos of the specimen. We knew that it would be unlikely to get a definitive answer without collecting a specimen. Still, we were fascinated and wanted to learn more.