Effects of substrate features on settling and attachment of larvae in blue mussel Mytilus edulis (mollusca, filibranchia)

The effect of some physical (roughness, wettability, colour) and biological (microfouling film) features of substrate on the settling and attachment of mussel Mytilus edulis has been studied in a coastal region of the White Sea. The experiments have been conducted using a special device (hydrovane) for fouling plate exposure. The plates, made of polysterene, were smooth .or rough, hydrophilic or hydrophobic, white or black, with or without microfouling. Wettability, microfouling film, roughness, of the surface are shown to influence to a greater degree. Hydrophobic materials were preferable for mussels to hydrophilic ones. The mussel density were higher on rough plates covered with microfouling films than on smooth substrates without films. The colour of materials affected the settling to a lesser degree. The investigated factors according to the increasing effects can be arranged in the following row: colour (2,3%), roughness (15,9%), microfouling film (21,6%), wettability (44,4%). The experiments have revealed that the factors act independently one another. Possible mechanisms, responsible for selectivity of mussels to substrates with various physical and biological features of the surface are discussed.