Blaaswier transporteert levende Japanse oester

An adult living 7cm long specimen of the Pacific oyster drifted ashore on the North Sea beach of the Island of Texel (Netherlands) attached to bladder wrack. It was probably transported from the nearby Wadden Sea and was detached together with the barnacles which it had overgrown. These barnacles died due to this overgrowth and were easily detached from the substrate. Apart from dispersion by pelagic larvae, such transport of adult oysters may also help in its rapid dispersal.