A print copy of this title is available from University of Oregon's Oregon Institute of Marine Biology library, under the call number: OIMB QL444.C58 H45 2004 / 106 p. OIMB MS Thesis / Gooseneck barnacles, Pollicipes polymerus, form clusters in the mid-upper rocky intertidal on exposed coasts of the northeast Pacific. Clusters compete for space, losing only to mussels, Mytilus californianus, and larvae settle gregariously on adults. By tagging juveniles with calcein, I studied recruitment and growth of juveniles in large and small clusters and on solitary adults. Recruitment was patchy; many adults contained no recruits, and three adults in each cluster contained 47 % of recruits. More juveniles per adult were found on edges than centers of clusters, and juveniles on edges grew faster than those on the inside of clusters. There was no effect of cluster size on recruitment or growth. Solitary adults had more recruits than clusters, and juveniles on solitaries grew faster than those from clusters. These results imply solitaries should quickly grow into clusters, and clusters accrete from their edges. These patterns may help Pollicipes compete with mussels.

Gooseneck Barnacles are a delicacy in Spain and Portugal and a species harvested for subsistence or commercial fishing across their global range. They are ubiquitous on the Oregon coastline and grow in dense aggregation in the intertidal zone. Reproductive biology of the species makes them particularly susceptible to overfishing, and in the interest of sustainability, aquaculture was explored as one option to supply a commercial product without impacting local ecological communities. A novel aquaculture system was developed and tested that caters to the unique feeding behavior of Pollicipes polymerus. Modified feeds of bio-enhanced rotifers and a blend of up-cycled commercial fish byproduct were administered to barnacles of three different size classes. Growth and propagule potential were tracked in the culture tanks. In addition, a separate experiment was performed to investigate various biometrics associated with feed efficiencies and nutritive content to assess the overall sustainability of this aquaculture system.