![]() ![]() Fluorescence microscopy was used to establish the presence of fluorescent proteins associated with posterior locomotory cilia. Settlement experiments comprised a choice between illuminated and shaded treatments. Light treatments included white light and the spectral components of red and blue light. ![]() Dispersal experiments provided a light-gradient-choice where light represented light attenuation with depth. Larvae of the tropical sponge species Coscinoderma mathewsi, Luffariella variabilis, Ircinia microconnulosa, and Haliclona sp., from deep (12–15 m) and shallower-water habitats (2–5 m), were used in experiments. But how universal is light as a cue to sponge larval dispersal and settlement? Behavioural choice experiments were used to test the effect of light on dispersal and settlement behaviours. Light is a fundamental cue contributing to larval sponge dispersal where photoreceptive cells contribute to this process. ![]() However, their motile larval stages afford opportunities to investigate how behaviour contributes to dispersal and selection of habitat. Deciphering the behavioural ecology of adult (sessile) sponges is challenging. ![]()
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