The movement and settlement behaviour of cyprids of Balanus reticulatus on the surfaces of the titanium alloys

Abstract

The motion paths of Balanus reticulatus cyprids were similar on all the titanium alloys surfaces. On the parallel grinding surfaces, the temporary attachment duration and the settlement ratio of the cyprids were influenced by the roughness and the composition of the surfaces and correlated positively. The surface roughness could also change the contact area and the numbers of the attachment points of the cyprids in the similar pattern. Consequently, the roughness and the composition of the surfaces regulated the cyprid settlement by the temporary attachment duration. The cross grinding increased the temporary attachment duration but drastically decreased the settlement ratio to 0 compared to the parallel grinding, possibly due to the voids and the drastic decrease of the contact area and the numbers of the attachment points of the cyprids on the cross grinding surface, respectively. The cross grinding therefore significantly reduced the cyprid settlement compared to the parallel grinding.

Keywords:

• Balanus reticulatus
• cyprids
• settlement
• titanium alloys

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Wenhao Cao for his kind assistance and intensive discussions in the culture of B. reticulatus cyprids.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Innovation Group Project of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (No. 311020012) and Guangzhou Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 202102080638).