Laboratory larval growth and settlement of the tube worm Hydroides elegans (Polychaeta : Serpulidae) for toxicological bioassays

Background and Purpose: Aim of this work was to use the different stages of Hydroides elegans life-cycle for toxicity and settlement tests. In this perspective the influence of some cultural parameters (temperature and food) on larval growth and the importance of a substrate pre-treatment for the settlement of competent larvae (metatrochophores) have been investigated.