Abstract
The influence of microbial films on larval settlement was studied for sympatric species of cellularioid cheilostome bryozoans (Bugula simplex, B. stolonifera, and B. turrita). Settlement experiments were conducted in the laboratory in 1981 with and without a choice of filmed or unfilmed substrates. When given a choice of substrates, the larvae of all three bryozoan species significantly preferred the filmed substrate. When not given a choice of substrates, both B. simplex and B. turrita larvae tended not to settle on the unfilmed substrate, while the filmed and unfilmed substrates were equally attractive to B. stolonifera. Microbial films enhanced the settlement of all three species.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Buss, L. W.: Group living, competition and the evolution of cooperation in a sessile invertebrate. Science, N.Y. 213, 1012–1014 (1981)
Crisp, D. J.: Factors influencing the settlement of marine invertebrate larvae. In: Chemoreception in marine organisms, pp 177–265. Ed. by P. T. Grant and A. M. Mackie. Academic Press: New York 1974
Crisp, D. J. and J. S. Ryland: Influence of filming and surface texture on the settlement of marine organisms. Nature, Lond. 185, p. 119 (1960)
Eiben, R.: Einfluß von Benetzungsspannung und Ionen auf die Substratbesiedlung und das Einsetzen der Metamorphose bei Bryozoenlarven (Bowerbankia gracilis). Mar. Biol. 37, 249–254 (1976)
Grave, B. H.: The natural history of Bugula flabellata at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including the behavior and attachment of the larva. J. Morph. 49, 355–383 (1930)
Grosberg, R. K.: Competitive ability influences habitat choice in marine invertebrates. Nature, Lond. 290, 700–702 (1981)
Kirchman, D., S. Graham, D. Reish and R. Mitchell: Lectins may mediate in the settlement and metamorphosis of Janua (Dexiospira) brasiliensis Grube (Polychaeta: Spirorobidae). Mar. Biol. Lett. 3, 131–142 (1982)
Lynch, W. F.: Acceleration and retardation of the onset of metamorphosis in two species of Bugula from the Woods Hole region. J. exp. Zool. 111, 27–53 (1949)
Meadows, P. S. and J. J. Campbell: Habitat selection by aquatic invertebrates. Adv. mar. Biol. 10, 271–382 (1972)
Mihm, J. W., W. C. Banta and G. I. Loeb: Effects of adsorbed organic and primary fouling films on bryozoan settlement. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 54, 167–179 (1981)
Miller, M. A.: Toxic effects of copper on the attachment and growth of Bugula nertina. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 90, 122–140 (1946)
Miller, M. A., J. C. Rapean and W. F. Whedon: The role of slime film in the attachment of fouling organisms. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 94, 143–157 (1948)
Ryland, J. S.: The effect of temperature on the photic responses of polyzoan larvae. Sarsia 6, 41–48 (1962)
Scheltema, R. S.: Biological interactions determining larval settlement of marine invertebrates. Thalassia jugosl. 10, 263–296 (1976)
Sokal, R. R. and F. J. Rohlf: Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 776 pp. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co. 1969
Wisely, B.: The settling and some experimental reactions of a bryozoan larva, Watersipora cucullata (Busk). Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 9, 362–371 (1958)
Woollacott, R. M.: Association of bacteria with bryozoan larvae. Mar. Biol. 65, 155–158 (1981)
Young, C. M. and F.-S. Chia: Laboratory evidence for delay of larval settlement in response to a dominant competitor. Int. J. Invertebrate Reprod. (Amsterdam), 3, 221–226 (1981)
Zobell, C. E. and E. C. Allen: The significance of marine bacteria in the fouling of submerged surfaces. J. Bact. 29, 239–251 (1935)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by N. D. Holland, La Jolla
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brancato, M.S., Woollacott, R.M. Effect of microbial films on settlement of bryozoan larvae (Bugula simplex, B. stolonifera and B. turrita). Mar. Biol. 71, 51–56 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396992
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396992