THE EFFECT OF BACTERIAL FILMS ON THE TEMPORARY ADHESION AND PERMANENTFIXATION OF CYPRIS LARVAE, BALANUS AMPHITRITE DARWIN

The relative tenacity of temporary adhesion of cypris larvae of the ba rnacle Balanus amphitrite Darwin was measured on three substrata (poly styrene, tissue-culture polystyrene, and glass) with and without the p resence of films of the marine bacterium Deleya marina (ATCC 25374). C yprids that were day 0 (day of metamorphosis from the sixth stage naup lius) or day 2 (two days later) were used in the experiments. Concomit ant with these measurements, fixation assays (22 h) were conducted on the same filmed and unfilmed substrata. Results indicate that although the three unfilmed substrata varied in their wettability, this had no apparent effect upon the tenacity of temporary adhesion. In addition, in contrast to reports for Balanus (= Semibalanus) balanoides (L.) th ere was no correlation between the tenacity of temporary adhesion and fixation to unfilmed substrata of these cyprids. The presence of bacte rial films (cells and their extracellular polymers) resulted in (1) si milar wettabilities for the three substrata, (2) varying effects on th e tenacity of temporary adhesion for day 0 cyprids, and (3) similar ef fects on the tenacity of temporary adhesion for day 2 cyprids. No corr elation was observed between the tenacity of temporary adhesion and fi xation of cyprids to bacterial films on the three substrata. Bacterial film inhibition of fixation is hypothesized to be through cyprid chem oreceptors.