Sea Vase
September 20, 2016
Photographers: John Stetson; Benjamin j. Farmer
Summary Author: John Stetson
The sea vase (Ciona intestinalis), shown above covering a piece of kelp attached to a dock at Southern Maine Community College, is an invasive species in Maine. Originally a native of Europe, this species has made its way across the Atlantic either in a ship's bilge (bilge water that gets discharged) or on a raft (natural or plastic). As a non-native species averaging about 6 in (15 cm) in length) it has few predators. Colonies of the sea vase compete for food and space with native mussels and oysters. Photo taken on September 9, 2016.
Photo Details: Camera Model: NIKON D300; Lens: 105.0 mm f/2.8; Focal Length: 105.0mm (35mm equivalent: 157mm); Aperture: ƒ/32.0; Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250); ISO equiv: 1600; Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh.