Celebrating World Aquatic Animal Day 2025

Today is World Aquatic Aniimal Day! It’s significant because it raises awareness about the essential role that aquatic animalsa and their habitats play in maintaining the balance of our ecosystems.

This world aquatic animal day we are celebrating a creature that is often overlooked – the barnacle!

You have probably seen these tiny animals stuck to rocks along the coast, but did you know that barnacles spend the first part of their lives floating in the ocean as part of the zooplankton community?

When the larvae have reached a certain stage they settle on a hard surface and then metamorphose into their adult form!

Inside the outer shells of each adult barnacle is a little shrimp like animal. When covered by water the shell plates in the centre of the shell move apart, and the barnacle extends its cirri (feeding appendages). By moving their cirri through the water barnacles can filter plankton and other microscopic organisms from the water to eat without ever having to move! Despite their small size, barnacles play a really important role in ocean ecosystems due to their role as filter feeders.

Take a look the next time you are at the coast and see if you can spot some!