Draft:Settlement Panels

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Declined by SafariScribe 28 days ago. Last edited by SafariScribe 28 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author.

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What are Settlement Panels?

Settlement Panels, also known as settlement tiles or plates, are commonly used in marine research to model the recruitment and growth of sessile, benthic, or epifaunal marine organisms to a variety of environmental factors.^[1]. They are designed to simulate the natural surfaces that corals, barnacles, sponges, and other sessile marine organisms settle on ^[2]. Benthic settlement panels are deployed to the seafloor whereas epifaunal settlement panels can be hung from docks or similar structures. Panels are deployed in either a horizontal or vertical orientation and their surfaces contain differing levels of complexity depending on the scope of the project ^[3]. Panels are typically deployed over the span of a few weeks or months.

Settlement tiles deployed in Wadmalaw River, SC. The first photo (far left) shows growth at 14 days post deployment and the last photo (far right) shows growth at 77 days. Organisms depicted includes tunicates, bryozoans, barnacles, and hydroids.

This represents a non-destructive method of research. Pre-existing local communities are not being harvested for laboratory experiments in situations where panels are used. Rather, the panels will be collected, and the in-situ community can be modeled via the community growing on the settlement panel ^[4]. This protects the natural integrity of ecosystems while allowing scientists to perform necessary research ^[4].

What are Settlement Panels made of?

PVC:
- Polyvinyl chloride is a commonly used material due to its durability, resistance to corrosion, and neutral chemical properties. It is relatively inexpensive andtherefore ideal for large-scale studies ^[5]. However, it is smooth and additional manipulation is required to increase texture or rugosity.
Terracotta or Ceramic:
- These materials are widely used in coral research as they closely mimic the natural surface of a reef ^[2]. Their rough texture, high rugosity, encourages larval settlement, making them ideal for studies involving coral recruitment and growth.
Concrete:
- Concrete is another material widely used in coral recruitment studies. Concrete is popular for its low cost, ready availability, and use in marine construction ^[6]

Common Uses of Settlement Panels

Coral Reef Regeneration
- Settlement panels allow scientists to measure the regeneration of coral reef ecosystems following human disturbance (eg. Oil spills) or natural disasters ^[4]^[7]^[8]. Researchers measure the success of coral recruitment, survival rates, and growth to inform coral restoration strategies.
Monitoring Invasive Species
- Settlement panels are essential tools for monitoring invasive species. Panels provide a substrate which mimics natural vectors of invasive marine species, such as ship hulls ^[5]^[9]. This provides scientists with an efficient way to detect the arrival and proliferation of invasive organisms.

References

^ Mallela J, Milne BC, Martinez-Escobar D. A comparison of epibenthic reef communities settling on commonly used experimental substrates: PVC versus ceramic tiles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2017 Jan 1;486:290–5.
^ ^a ^b Harriott VJ, Fisk DA. A comparison of settlement plate types for experiments on the recruitment of scleractinian corals. 1987;37:201–8.
^ Thomason JC, Letissier MDAA, Thomason PO, Field SN. Optimising settlement tiles: The effects of surface texture and energy, orientation and deployment duration upon the fouling community. Biofouling [Internet]. 2002 Dec [cited 2024 Oct 6];18(4):293–304. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0892701021000034409
^ ^a ^b ^c Mundy CN. An appraisal of methods used in coral recruitment studies. Coral Reefs [Internet]. 2000 Jul [cited 2024 Oct 6];19(2):124–31. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226558552_An_appraisal_of_methods_used_in_coral_recruitment_studies
^ ^a ^b Tait L, Inglis G, Seaward K. Enhancing passive sampling tools for detecting marine bioinvasions. Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Mar 1;128:41–50.
^ Fong J, Ramsby BD, Flores F, Dada T, Antunes E, Abdul Wahab MA, et al. Effects of material type and surface roughness of settlement tiles on macroalgal colonisation and early coral recruitment success. Coral Reefs [Internet]. 2024 Aug 1 [cited 2024 Oct 6];43(4):1083–96. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-024-02526-4
^ Cruz DWD, Harrison PL. Enhanced larval supply and recruitment can replenish reef corals on degraded reefs. Scientific Reports 2017 7:1 [Internet]. 2017 Oct 25 [cited 2024 Oct 6];7(1):1–13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14546-y
^ dela Cruz DW, Harrison PL. Enhancing coral recruitment through assisted mass settlement of cultured coral larvae. PLoS One [Internet]. 2020 Nov 1 [cited 2024 Oct 6];15(11):e0242847. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0242847
^ Marraffini ML, Ashton G V., Brown CW, Chang AL, Ruiz GM. Settlement plates as monitoring devices for non-indigenous species in marine fouling communities. Management of Biological Invasions. 2017 Nov 1;8(4):559–66.

[1] Mallela J, Milne BC, Martinez-Escobar D. A comparison of epibenthic reef communities settling on commonly used experimental substrates: PVC versus ceramic tiles. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol. 2017 Jan 1;486:290–5.

[Harriott-2] Harriott VJ, Fisk DA. A comparison of settlement plate types for experiments on the recruitment of scleractinian corals. 1987;37:201–8.

[3] Thomason JC, Letissier MDAA, Thomason PO, Field SN. Optimising settlement tiles: The effects of surface texture and energy, orientation and deployment duration upon the fouling community. Biofouling [Internet]. 2002 Dec [cited 2024 Oct 6];18(4):293–304. Available from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0892701021000034409

[Mundy-4] Mundy CN. An appraisal of methods used in coral recruitment studies. Coral Reefs [Internet]. 2000 Jul [cited 2024 Oct 6];19(2):124–31. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226558552_An_appraisal_of_methods_used_in_coral_recruitment_studies

[Tait-5] Tait L, Inglis G, Seaward K. Enhancing passive sampling tools for detecting marine bioinvasions. Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Mar 1;128:41–50.

[6] Fong J, Ramsby BD, Flores F, Dada T, Antunes E, Abdul Wahab MA, et al. Effects of material type and surface roughness of settlement tiles on macroalgal colonisation and early coral recruitment success. Coral Reefs [Internet]. 2024 Aug 1 [cited 2024 Oct 6];43(4):1083–96. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00338-024-02526-4

[7] Cruz DWD, Harrison PL. Enhanced larval supply and recruitment can replenish reef corals on degraded reefs. Scientific Reports 2017 7:1 [Internet]. 2017 Oct 25 [cited 2024 Oct 6];7(1):1–13. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14546-y

[8] Cruz DW, Harrison PL. Enhancing coral recruitment through assisted mass settlement of cultured coral larvae. PLoS One [Internet]. 2020 Nov 1 [cited 2024 Oct 6];15(11):e0242847. Available from: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0242847

[9] Marraffini ML, Ashton G V., Brown CW, Chang AL, Ruiz GM. Settlement plates as monitoring devices for non-indigenous species in marine fouling communities. Management of Biological Invasions. 2017 Nov 1;8(4):559–66.

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