Balanus balanus found at depths of up to and grows on bedrock, boulders, pebbles and shells. It seems to favour habitats with strong currents and when overcrowding occurs, adopts different shapes to fit the space available. It is often found growing alongside another barnacle, "Balanus crenatus". Other species often found in its vicinity include "Tubularia larynx", "Obelia geniculata", "Pomatoceros triqueter", "Pecten maximus", "Hydroides norvegica", "Chlamys opercularis" and "Sertularia" species. Coralline algae was often present as were the whelk, the European edible sea urchin ("Echinus esculentus"), the great spider crab ("Hyas araneus") and the shore crab ("Carcinus maenas"). The main predator is the
Black garden ant Black garden ant The black garden ant ("Lasius niger"), also known as the common black ant, is a formicine ant, the type species of the subgenus "Lasius", found all over Europe and in some parts of North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Australasia. The European species was split into two species; "L. niger" is found in open areas, while "L. platythorax" is found in forest habitats. It is monogynous, meaning colonies have a single queen. "Lasius niger" colonies can reach in size up to around 40,000 workers in rare cases but 4,000–7,000 is around average. A "Lasius niger" queen