CHEMICAL INDUCERS OF SETTLEMENT OF BENTHIC MARINE-INVERTEBRATES - IMPORTANCE AND NEEDS OF THEIR STUDY IN CHILE

Settlement is an important process affecting the population and community dynamics of a large number of benthic marine invertebrates, and represents one of the fundamental phases in the cultivation of commercially important species. A large number of chemical cues have been described as fundamental factors triggering the larval settlement response. On one hand, the natural inducers have been characterized from studies carried out on natural substrates, and have been mainly associated to three types of sources: conspecific individuals, microbial films and prey species. Natural inducers have had a great importance in the progress of the natural history knowledge of organisms, since they have been able to explain by themselves a large number of ecological patterns. On the other hand, the artificial inducers have been associated to neurotransmitters and their precursors. These type of inducers, in tandem with studies of the physiological transduction mechanisms of the exogenous settlement cues, have been of a great importance in the understanding of larval response, specially those related with the regulation of this process. The use of potassium ion as a valuable tool of settlement induction, has allowed to improve cultivation of several economically important species. Despite their great biotechnological and ecological impact of natural and artificial chemical cues, very few studies have been done in Chile. This paper attempts to highlight the important progresses that can be obtained from the study of these type of cues, with the aim of stimulate future research lines in this area in our country.