Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2013
An early and massive settlement of Lepas australis and Lepas pectinata attached to pumice from a recent volcanic eruption is described for the first time. The last 2010 earthquake of central Chile generated stress changes on the magma pathway and this reaction induced the Cordón-Caulle Volcanic Complex eruption on 4 June 2011. Only four months later, a great amount of pumice showing a massive settlement of goose barnacles (Lepas spp.) was drift-carried to the Chilean coast. Our results suggest that the larval attachment structures of Lepas australis and L. pectinata have a high capacity for adhering to the pumice surface, using it as an important dispersion vector.