Under the Sea: Sea Squirts and Tenure by Jeff “Dr Chordate” Moran

Sea squirts live in the ocean, shallow water near the shore.
Feeding on micro plankton filtered from the sea water store.
Hermaphroditic creatures, sometimes used in sushi dishes.
They themselves become food for rays and bottom-dwelling ocean fishes.

Under the sea. Under the sea.
Sea squirt eggs hatches in big batches, larvae slither around.
No feet to walk. Look for a rock and settle down.

Looking for the perfect rock on which to take hold and stay.
Need just the right rock on which to spend the rest of their days.
And so they ooze over the sand, going this way and that.
Climbing over coral and clam shells until the find where it’s at.

Under the sea. Under the sea.
Stuck to a rock like a pad lock. Look a lot like a plant.
Passing the time filtering slime. They try to move, but they can’t

And so when they find that good rock, they climb up and settle down.
Secrete an adhesive stick ‘em so they don’t fall to the ground.
Then they metamorph to adulthood and all their organs rearrange.
Orienting to the current and reabsorbing their brains.

Under the sea. Under the sea.
After they morph, they find they don’t
Any more need their brains.
It’s like getting tenure, a new adventure,
Without their brains.
No need to move, nothing to prove,
Don’t need their brains.
Like getting tenure, a new adventure,
No more need their brains.