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pyura dalbyii

Learning More About The Sea Squirts At St Helens

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I recently went to St Helens to get photos of Botyrlloides. I did have an additional motive: I wanted to get more photos of various sea squirts to help me learn more about them.

I understand that all ascidians are sea squirts. However, these images show the type of marine life that I always assumed were sea squirts. I don’t know if they are related taxonomically in a way that other ascidians aren’t. Regardless, I want to learn about and start documenting these guys.

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Multiple Invasive Ascidians At St Helens Boat Ramp

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I hadn’t though about St Helens Boat Ramp – or marine life in general – for months. It was winter, and I was too busy any outside chores done before my heat intolerance rendered me housebound for the summer.

Then I accidentally made a Botrylloides diegensis observation. The next week, I had a zoom call with two ascidian experts. We shared photos and they helped me understand the features that both both B. Diegensis and Pyura Dalbyi stand out.

I was excited. I had gone through photos that I had previously taken and had noticed what appeared to be P. Dalbyi in many of those photos. I decided to return to St Helens ASAP to 1) get better photos and 2) see what other species was there.

I only stuck to the side of one boat ramp so was limited in species diversity.

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I Just Got An Olympus TG6! Lightbulb Ascidians At St Helens Boat Ramp

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I recently bought an Olympus TG6. I had been going through my old marine life photos and was frustrated with the image quality. Most of them had been taken with my phone because my klutzy self doesn’t want to take an expensive DSLR near water. Many would turn out blurry and I wasn’t able to get the detail I wanted with some of the smaller critters.

Mum and the family invited me to St Helens last night to test it out. I AM IN LOVE! Mum is in love with lightbulb ascidians, so I got as many photos of them as I could. I’m so impressed with the image quality. Some are slightly out of focus, but that is to be expected when you are lying across a boat ramp on your stomach with your camera in the water.

I’m so excited to see what photos I can get in the future. This is opening up a world of possibilities.

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