Can you tell us more about the salp in Ms. Austins picture on the 5-18 log?
Salps are related to sea squirts. They are clear animals that swim in the water column. They use muscular contractions to jet propel themselves through the water. The particular salps Ms. Austin photographed are colonial, meaning they live in a colony. The colony is a long chain of cloned salps. They are genetically identical. This particular salp chain was 20 feet long! This is the largest colony anyone on the ship had ever seen. Each individual was about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. The part of the salp that is not clear is the stomach, intestines, and gonads, which appear as a small ball inside each animal. What is the most interesting thing you have found on the cruise? This is a hard question to answer because we are finding sooo many interesting things on the cruise. Some highlights are the giant salp chain, the opaque red jellyfish seen in Ms. Keammerers’ dive, and the dumbo octopus seen earlier today. I think each person would answer this question differently. Has anyone b
