Initial Attachment,Metamorphosis, Settlement,and Survival of Black‐footed Abalone,Haliotis iris,on Microalgal Biofilms Containing Different Amino Acid Compositions

Microalgal biofilms with different amino acid profiles were investigated for their ability to induce abalone, Haliotis iris, attachment, metamorphosis, shell stage, and survival. Twenty microalgal strains, isolated from rocky shores and sandy estuaries, were grown in the laboratory to produce young and matured monospecific biofilms. Abalone larvae were exposed to the different biofilm treatments and controls (no biofilms) for 7 (attachment and metamorphosis) and 14 (shell stage and survival) d. The larvae performed significantly better in biofilms compared with controls across microalgal strains, but attachment, metamorphosis, shell stage, and survival were generally less than about 50, 35, 25, and 25%, respectively. Some microalgal strains belonging to the same species but collected from different sites had different effects on the larvae, likely due to variations in biochemical composition and activity among strains. Although no clear relationship was found between the microalgal amino acid profiles and larval processes, percentage biofilm cover and total amino acids were positively correlated with some of these processes. In addition, abalone performed significantly better when exposed to mature compared with young biofilms. These results may be due to the greater amounts of microalgal cells and their extracellular polymers within older biofilms, which may cue larvae toward more nutritionally favorable environments.