GILLIAN BURKE

“The moment struck me as connection with nature at its purest”

“STUDYING A SINGLE ADULT barnacle, as if staring into the dark crater of a miniature volcano, is utterly absorbing. At first glance, this strange yet familiar marine creature appears to be a close relation of its bivalve molluscan neighbours, by virtue of sharing the same intertidal rockface, but in fact it has far more in common with marauding crabs and lobsters. For now, the ‘crater’ is sealed shut by two watertight plates that conceal and protect the interior. As the tide turns, the animal sheltering within begins to stir as the two calcareous sliding doors open and feathery legs (cirri), poke out, tentatively sampling for food particles, waving as if beckoning the observer to enter its Lilliputian world. This is the sort of scene I imagined was also holding the…

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Bbc Wildlife (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2024

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