Barnacles stick to host locations by secreting an adhesive cement, typically from a rigid plate on their undersides, that glues them to the surface. Once barnacle larvae mature, they travel on ocean currents in search of an anchoring place, preferentially settling in locations with good water flow, which often happen to be moving marine animals. He thinks the answer is foodĪlmost by definition, barnacles are immobile: these crustaceans cluster on surfaces such as whale heads, sea turtle shells, coastal rocks, and ship hulls. The Scientist spoke with marine biologist and barnacle researcher John Zardus about why turtle barnacles-previously thought to be immobile-in fact slowly travel. Some Barnacles Can Move Around to Improve Feeding Position Here’s a look at two popular magazine articles about the findings. “And that’s what we set out to discover with barnacles.” “The goal of movement ecology is to determine how, why, where and when organisms move,” said Zardus. And, according to the research, they often leave behind a little trail of their sticky “cement.” Recorded Chelonibia testudinaria barnacle movement on plexiglass plateĬourtesy of Benny K.K. Yes, the barnacles that spend their lives attached to sea turtles actually move around on the turtle, they are not stagnant. The abstract states that Professor John Zardus, Ph.D., and his co-authors “confirm that the epizoic sea turtle barnacle, Chelonibia testudinaria, has evolved the capacity for self-directed locomotion as adults.” The academic piece is entitled “Five hundred million years to mobility: directed locomotion and its ecological function in a turtle barnacle.” Research by a marine biologist at The Citadel is popping up science news outlets after his work was published by The Royal Society Publishing. Barnacles can move? Seriously who knew? Apparently not many people.
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