Project:

Barcoding different Phenotypes of the Colonial Sea Squirt Botryllus shlosseri In the Hudson-Raritan Estuary

Students:

Lisette Mejia, Tiffany Vu, Brian Mejia

School:

Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, Manhattan

Mentors:

Mauricio Gonzalez

Abstract:

The purpose of this project is to barcode specimens of sea squirts to determine if they are part of the same species Botryllus schlosseri. B. schlosseri is a colonial sea squirt whose phenotype can vary from different colors to different shapes. For example, they may appear orange, yellow, red, greenish gray, violet or black. They typically form a flat sheet of 3-4 mm thick and up to 10 cm across. B. schlosseri can grow on a variety of surfaces, include docks, boat hulls, buoys, ropes, pilling and the undersides of rocks. B. schlosseri can grow quite well in polluted water. We hypothesize that the samples collected from the East River are indeed associated with Botryllus schlosseri classification due to similar characteristics of color and patterns.

Poster:

Team samples: