V. V. Khalaman, Yu. I. Mukhina, A. Yu. Komendantov - Effect of excretory-secretory products of fouling organisms on settlement of larvae of the sponge Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766) (Porifera: Demospongiae)

BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2011, Vol. 37, No. 6, pp. 477-482

Effect of excretory-secretory products of fouling organisms on settlement of larvae of the sponge Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766) (Porifera: Demospongiae)

¹White Sea Biological Station of Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg 199034;
²Laboratory of Ontogenesis, Biological Research Institute of Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 198504

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The effect of the excretory-secretory products (ESP) of some fouling organisms on the larvae of the sponge Halichondria panicea was assessed in laboratory experiment. The ESP of the brown alga Laminaria saccharina significantly stimulated larval settlement and metamorphosis, while the metabolites excreted by the conspecific adult colonies were deleterious to H. panicea larvae. The ESP of the ascidians Styela rustica and Molgula citrina and the blue mussel Mytilus edulis impeded both the settlement and metamorphosis of the sponge larvae to a varying degree. Chemical cues of the bivalve Hiatella arctica had no significant effect on the number of settled larvae of H. panicea but retarded their metamorphosis.

Key words: fouling communities, Halichondria panicea, Hiatella arctica, Molgula citrina, Mytilus edulis, Styela rustica, Laminaria saccharina, larvae, settlement, metamorphosis, White Sea.