Abstract
Preferences of presettlement larvae ofSpirobranchus giganteus (Pallas) for corals were investigated and compared with the distribution of adult worms on corals in the field. Ripe adultS. giganteus were collected from three reef locations along the west coast of Barbados between January and July 1986. Ova were fertilized in the laboratory, and larvae tested for preferences for and between four species of coral,Diploria strigosa, Montastrea annularis, M. cavernosa andPorites porites. Each experiment offered a choice of two corals and a control, and a total of 288 experiments were conducted. Data were analysed as coral vs control and coral vs coral. Presettlement larvae preferredD. strigosa andM. annularis, corals on which adult worms are common, over a control. They showed no preference forM. cavernosa orP. porites, corals on which adult worms are rare, over the control. Larvae preferred bothD. strigosa andM. annularis overM. cavernosa, and preferredM. annularis overP. porites. A comparison of preference behaviour between 1 to 4 d larvae and 5 to 12 d larvae indicated little tendency for preference to change with age.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
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Marsden, J.R., Conlin, B.E. & Hunte, W. Habitat selection in the tropical polychaeteSpirobranchus giganteus . Mar. Biol. 104, 93–99 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01313162
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01313162