Semibalanus balanoides isolate:JCBN2019 Genome sequencing and assembly. Semibalanus balanoides isolate:JCBN2019

The northern acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) inhabits the rocky intertidal, a highly heterogeneous ecosystem exposed to both aerial and oceanic climate regimes in which multiple environmental stressors can be easily tracked. Depending on where barnacles settle on the rocky intertidal, the abiotic challenges experienced by individuals vary drastically: For instance, during the summer months, individuals settling on the lower tidal microhabitat experience consistently lower thermal stress relative to upper tidal microhabitats. Sun aspect also generates microhabitat heterogeneity: In the northern hemisphere, the southwestern facing shores experience higher thermal stress relative to southeastern facing shores. As such, the biology of S. balanoides represents a natural laboratory to determine what genes are involved in adaptive responses to the abiotic challenges of intertidal ecology.