Hitchhikers make life difficult for sea spiders

[Still Waters]

IN THE OCEAN, a wide variety of hitchhikers glom on to other animals. Barnacles are among the most prominent, but there are actually hundreds of creatures that pursue this life strategy. Generally, these freeloaders—which can be seen covering everything from whales to sea turtles to horseshoe crabs—are seen as harmless and even beneficial in some cases.

But what if they become a real drag?

Sea spiders, an enigmatic group of creatures found all over the world, are not immune to such hitchhikers. New research shows that organisms encrusted on or protruding from their surface can affect their movement and interfere with their breathing—since they lack lungs and gills and absorb oxygen through their exoskeleton.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/11/sea-spiders-barnacles-hitchhikers-drag-antarctica-news/