Larval settlement behaviour of the barnacle Balanus reticulatus in the laboratory

The effect of algal food concentration, substratum, light, salinity, cyprid density and 'footprints', cyprid age, films of organic biopolymers, bacteria and diatoms oil the settlement of Balanus reticulatus cyprids were studied. The algal food quantity (from 7x10(4) to 4x10(5) cells ml(-1)) fed to nauplii had a significant effect on the settlement. Cyprids failed to settle on glass surfaces but would settle on polystyrene, Light cyprid 'footprints' and age significantly affected the settlement, however. salinity (from 20 to 40 psu) and cyprid density (from 5 to 200 per 5 ml of seawater) had no effect oil the settlement. Films of organic polymers, bacteria, and diatoms inhibited the settlement compared to control. It is suggested chat cyprids of B. reticulatus call serve as an appropriate test material fur antifouling bioassays in those areas where the former forms a dominant species.