Responses of settling invertebrate larvae to the presence of established recruits

Abstract

Settlement of sessile invertebrates is mediated by a range of biophysical cues that make colonization a highly conditional process. A clear surface is initially occupied by a biofilm and by species not using that biofilm as a positive cue. The biofilm then becomes a cue for other invertebrate species, and changes in the biofilm further change the settlement patterns. Despite increasing knowledge of biofilms, the role of the initial invertebrate settlers is less clear - do these incumbents act as cues, making settlement even more conditional, or do settlers arrive independent of these residents? I measured settlement onto experimental substrata at a field site in southeastern Australia, in a ..