Species and Habitat Outlines

Gooseneck Barnacle
TAXONOMY

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Crustacea
Order: Thoracica
Family: Scalpellidae

 

ECOLOGICAL DATA

Distribution: common on rocky, exposed coastal areas with strong wave action.

Habitat: form tight clumps on exposed rocky shorelines with strong wave action; occur in rocky gullies in more sheltered locations; associated with California mussel (Mytilus californianus) and sea star Pisaster ochraceus; planktonic larvae dispersed by currents; larvae often settle on stalks of adults.

Tidal elevation: mid-intertidal zone, extending higher in gullies where wave action is concentrated.

Food: filter feeder; feeds on copepods, algae and detritus, and larger invertebrates such as amphipods; obtains food from wave-wash running off of rocks.

Predators: sea stars and crabs.

GROWTH RATE

Slow; sexual maturity reached after 5 y (approx. 12 mm capitulum height); may live to 20 yr.

FISHERY

Small fishery exists; stalk or peduncle is used for food.

 

 

REFERENCES

Barnes, H., and E.S. Reese. 1960. The behaviour of the stalked intertidal barnacle Pollicipes polymerus J.B. Sowerby, with special reference to its ecology and distribution. J. Anim. Ecol. 29: 169-185.

Bernard, F.R. 1988. Potential fishery for the gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes polymerus (Sowerby, 1983) in British Columbia. Fish. Res. 6: 287-298.

Carefoot, T. 1977. Pacific seashores: a guide to intertidal ecology. J.J. Douglas Ltd., Vancouver: 208 p.

Cimberg, R.L. 1981. Variability in brooding activity in the stalked barnacle Pollicipes polymerus. Biol. Bull. 160: 31-42.

Cornwall, I.E. 1975. The barnacles of British Columbia. B.C. Prov. Mus. Handb. 7: 40-41.

Hoffman, D.L. 1988. Settlement and growth of the pedunculate barnacle, Pollicipes polymerus Sowerby in an intake seawater system at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California. Pac. Sci. 42: 154-159.

Howard, G.K., and H.C. Scott. 1958. Predaceous feeding in two common gooseneck barnacles. Science 129: 717-718.

Kozloff, E. N. 1983. Seashore life of the northern Pacific coast. Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver: 135-136.

Lewis, C.A. 1975. Development of the gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes polymerus (Cirripedia: Lepadomorpha): fertilization through settlement. Mar. Biol. 32: 141-153.

 

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