Ecology

Ascidians, also called sea squirt, are  mainly sessile filter feeder marine organisms that inhabit the marine environment worldwide.

While there has been record of Phalusia julinea found up to 30m deep, most are located between 0 and 15m, very often living under rocks or corals.

The three specimens collected on Heron were found underunder boulders, in two different areas of the reef crest. The first area was directly North of Shark Bay (A), while the second one was located on the North East edge of the reef (B).



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Two location where the Phallusia julinea were found



Area A

Area B

While no organism was found living in or on the three specimens, the boulders they were collected on possessed a range of other ascidians, both colonial and solitary, bryozoans, sponges, gastropods and polychaetes.

Example of a boulder on which the ascidians were found.

Did you know? Two species of ascidians have “yellow sea squirt” for common name: phallusia julinea and Ciona intestinalis, another solitary ascidian found in Europe.