Last fall this vertical rock wall lay buried under a smothering layer of sand. The resident barnacles, Balanus glandula, couldn’t tolerate it. Winter surf removed the sand revealing empty B. glandula shells and something more; a dense settlement of new recruits.
Open space doesn’t stay open long in the in the exposed rocky intertidal. Larvae arrive in the plankton, settle down, and metamorphose on bare rock. If you want to know the future, turn your gaze to open water, the plankton will tell you.
theoutershores 
So those little grey coloured ones are all baby barnacles – in their hundreds?
That’s right. They are only about 1.5 mm across.Kind of interesting that they don’t seem to settle much on the old barnacle shells.
When I see this, I see hope. It is everything Spring represents to me.
I’m with you all the way; couldn’t agree more. Thanks!
Fascinating! Thank you.
Aren’t barnacles wonderful? They play a big role in rocky intertidal zonation, as we understand it. Planktonic larvae too! Thanks for giving my story a read.
Never knew barnacle’s could be so beautiful and again your photo”s are amazing Steve!
Never knew barnacle’s could be so beautiful and again your photo’s are amazing Steve!
Hey there Terri, thank you so much. Barnacles are a source of wonder.
What a dramatic photo. No vacuum here! Nature will find a way. 🙂
So true. Open space doesn’t stay open for long!
I look at this photo with wonder.. never seen anything like it before 🙂
Thanks M