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Tunicates found on Siesta Beach |
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Over the past few days many of you may have
heard rumors or received emails about tar balls on Siesta
Key Beach. These are not tar balls. They are (organic sea
life) and occasionally wash up along the shore. We have been
seeing them along the beaches in Sarasota County for several
months.
Some people have also reported a fuel smell and are
incorrectly associating that with this organic sea life when
in fact it is probably from a passing boat or jet-ski.
We continue to encourage residents and beachgoers to report
items found on the beaches to 1-866-448-5816.
Tunicates are commonly referred to as sea
squirts
- typically attached or anchored to
soft sediments and viewed as a fouling organism on
pilings
- they are animals, phylum:
protochordates
- they push water through their bodies
to feed on plankton (filter feeders)
- leathery/gelatinous outer covering
that may feel slimy to the touch
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