Kiwa

Kiwa is a trapper in his pod of ornate kelpdwellers. They live in the lush kelp forests on the coast of New-Zealand. They are characterised by having many mutualistic interactions in this environment. Kiwa is covered in barnacles, especially grouped under his elytra, where his feathergills are situated. The barnacles, while feeding on microplankton, help in displacing water over the gills. Tending to each other’s barnacles is a type of grooming and pair-bonding they often exhibit. The pod lives in the safety of kelpbladders, where they tend to schools of seaslugs and copepods. As herders of this type of livestock, they fullfill an important role in this delicate ecosystem. Leafy seadragons inhabit the kelp and are fed by these stocks, in return they give the pod a way of stealthy transportation inbetween the fronds. When exploring the marine forests, the kelpdwellers are often seen carrying their tridents, hoping to spear a few fingerling from their camouflaged positions.