The Adhesion of Barnacles

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Abstract
Adhesives for permanent attachment of barnacles are secreted at two stages in the life history. The settlement stage larva exudes a quantity of cement (cyprid cement) from the paired cement glands onto the substratum and this envelops the attachment organs. The permanently attached larva then metamorphoses to the juvenile and after a short growth interval, during which the juvenile is still dependent on cyprid cement, the newly formed adult cement apparatus first secretes the adult cement. Adult cement can be collected and analysed biochemically; results show it to be < 70% protein. The mechanisms of adhesion are discussed.