Carbohydrate produced by bacteria triggers marine biofouling

Most bottom-dwelling marine invertebrate animals, such as sponges, corals, worms and oysters, produce tiny larvae that swim in the ocean prior to attaching to the seafloor and transforming into juveniles. A previous study led by researchers at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) unlocked the mystery of how the floating larvae responsible for establishing marine biofouling settle and metamorphose: specific bacteria in biofilms are a signal that they have found the "right spot."