Interactions/Adaptations

P. polymerus is a very interactive creature for not being able to move around a whole lot. It is a commensalism type organism, so it lives on other organisms without harming them. The barnacle lives on many objects like floating logs in the ocean, turtle shells, fish, the bottoms of boats, rocks, and other different surfaces. It can even create its own floating home by forming a mucus bubble that hardens to live on. Boaters specifically do not like barnacles because they stick to the bottoms of their ships, causing the ships to move slower in the water. Boaters use to ground their ships, meaning they scrapped the bottom of their ships on rocks to try and remove the barnacles, causing severe damage to their ships. P. polymerus has many predators. Some of its predators are creatures like sea stars, tunacates, whelks, snails, and the most common predator are birds or sea gulls.

To learn more about the different predators, follow these links: Snail  Star Fish Bacteria Tunicates

The goose barnacle has some specific adaptations that help it live. Some of the adaptations are things like its shell, it is used for protection. The barnacle has a type of adhesive that allows it to stick to any surface. The adhesive they say is called superglue because it can stick to almost anything, like glass, metal, concrete, and plastic. The barnacle is able to move around using currents, creating its own mucus bubble to float on, and by using hosts such as fish, turtles, and other creatures of the sea the barnacle decides to stick to.

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