Induction & Inhibition of Natural Chemicals
Bernie Degnan, Mary Garson
& Greg Skilleter
Benthic marine invertebrates produce planktonic larvae that
discriminate between different substrata by chemoreception.
Larval settlement and recruitment patterns result from
differential responses of larvae to the chemical
microseascape. We are using the ascidian larva as a model
to investigate how bryozoan- and sponge-derived metabolites
influence larval settlement. We will then determine
if these metabolites have a wider role in structuring the
development of sessile reefal communities by manipulating
the presence and composition of chemical cues on substrata
in the field. We are also examining the composition
of the assemblages of invertebrates which live on the
surface of, and inside, congeneric species of sponge to
determine whether differences in the numbers and types of
these animals vary as a function of the chemical
composition and/or the morphology of these sponges.
This project will shed light
upon processes regulating larval perception of chemical
signals in the marine environment.