Abstract
Testing of new coatings to control fouling frequently involves single-species laboratory bioassays. Barnacle cyprids are among the most widely used model organisms in marine biofouling research, and surfaces that inhibit their settlement are considered to be promising candidates for new coating concepts. An analysis of motility parameters (mean velocity and swimming area coefficient) and distribution of cyprids of Balanus amphitrite in different swimming regions in the vicinity of model surfaces (self-assembled monolayers) is presented. The data are correlated with the settlement preferences of cyprids on these surfaces. Cyprids were predominantly found in interfacial regions and the transition frequencies between swimming regions of different depths were determined.
Acknowledgements
The authors kindly acknowledge the financial support of ONR (grant N00014-12-1-0498 to AR, N00014-08-1-1240 and N00014-13-1-0633 to ASC) and DFG (grant RO 2524/2-2). They thank Nicholas Aldred for providing the cyprids.