Abstract
Crisp & Meadows (1962, 1963) have shown that aqueous extracts of whole barnacles, when applied to an inert test surface renders the surface attractive to barnacle cyprids thus simulating the gregarious response displayed at settlement. The factor responsible for promoting the settlement of cyprids ofBalanus balanoideshas been shown to be nondialysable, resistant to boiling in aqueous solution, and can be fractionated by precipitation with ammonium sulphate (Crisp & Meadows, 1962, 1963; Gabbott & Larman, 1971). In their 1962 paper, Crisp & Meadows showed that the settlement factor was present in untreated extracts of all the arthropod groups they examined (includingCarcinus maenas)and in extracts of two species of sponges and the fishBlennius pholis.Extracts of other animals and plants were not active. In particular, untreated extracts of the bivalvesMytilus edulisandOstrea eduliswere inactive when assayed against cyprids ofB. balanoides.Recently one of us has shown that boiled extracts, partially purified by precipitation with ammonium sulphate, of whole barnacles (B. balanoides, Elminius modestusandB. hameri), crab carapace(Carcinus maenas), whole heads of the blenny (Blennius pholis) and of the body tissues (excluding the shell) ofO. edulisandM. edulis, all contain a characteristic group of acidic proteins, or protein-carbohydrate complexes, with iso-electric points in the range pH 4.0–6.0 (Larman, 1975). This finding has prompted us to re-examine the specificity of the settlement response in barnacles.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
