6533b823fe1ef96bd127fb2b

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Substratum recognition as settlement cue for larvae of Dendropoma cristatum (Biondi, 1859)

Emanuela Claudia La MarcaGiulio FranzittaE. CapruzziMarco MilazzoRenato Chemello

subject

larval settlement habitat selection substratum preferences reef formation. Introduction -Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia

description

Despite the ecological relevance of the vermetid bioconstructions in the Mediterranean, little is known about the early life stage of Dendropoma cristatum. This study describes the preference for settlement substrata from D. cristatumlarvae. A field experiment was carried out to test the suitability of crustose coralline algae (CCA), D. cristatumadults and two inorganic substrata as settlement surfaces. The number of settling larvae varied among the four treatments with higher settlement success on organic surfaces. CCA and D. cristatumindividuals seem to promote attachment of young larvae and to induce the metamorphosis in recruits. This is probably due to biological or physical properties of the preferred substrata which result essential for the early development of the vermetid bioconstruction.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2017-01-01
http://hdl.handle.net/10447/221974