Ultrasonic technologies are increasingly deployed in coastal and marine environments for antifouling, sonar, underwater communication, and ballast water treatment; however, their biological effects on sessile invertebrates remain poorly understood. This study investigated the physiological responses of the solitary ascidian Ciona intestinalis to continuous (CUES) and pulsed (PUES) ultrasound exposure at 30 kHz using a biochemi...

Copper-based antifouling paints supplemented with organic booster biocides are a major source of chemical contamination in coastal marine ecosystems. However, the combined effects of copper(I) and emerging booster biocides on non-target marine organisms remain insufficiently understood. Here, we assessed the toxicity of copper(I) chloride (CuCl) and the booster biocide dichlofluanid, both individually and as released from anti...

Vertebrate mast cells are the first cells to initiate the inflammatory response. The origin of these highly specialised innate immunity cells in chordates is an intriguing unanswered question, and tunicates represent the best candidates to address this question for their close relationship with vertebrates. In the colonial ascidian Botrylloides leachii, a particular cell type circulates in the haemolymph, namely, ‘granular cel...

In the original publication [...]

Ultrasonic antifouling devices are installed globally on a variety of vessel types and are marketed as an environmentally friendly method for biofouling control. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ultrasound on adults of three species of common solitary ascidians (Ciona intestinalis, Ascidiella aspersa and Styela plicata). After a brief (10 s) exposure to two ultrasound frequencies (30 and 35 kHz), alterations...

Biofouling is the association of sessile aquatic organisms that rapidly settle on artificial hard substrata, thereby posing a large problem worldwide since its growth often causes severe damage to submerged structures [...]

In the original publication [...]

The colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri possesses an innate immunity, which plays fundamental roles in its survival, adaptability, worldwide spread and ecological success. Three lines of differentiation pathways of circulating haemocytes are known to be present in the haemolymph, starting from undifferentiated haemoblasts: (i) the phagocytic line (hyaline amoebocytes and macrophage-like cells), (ii) the cytotoxic line (gran...

To evaluate the effects of antifouling paints and biocides on larval settlement and metamorphosis, newly hatched swimming larvae of the compound ascidian Botryllus schlosseri, a dominant species of soft-fouling in coastal communities, were exposed to (i) substrata coated with seven antifouling paints on the market containing different biocidal mixtures and types of matrices and (ii) sea water containing various concentrations...

Dichlofluanid has long been employed as a fungicide in agriculture and has been massively introduced in antifouling paints for boat hulls over the last two decades. One of the most important toxic effects of antifoulants is represented by immunosuppression in marine invertebrates, which can be analysed in vitro with a number of short-term toxicity assays on haemocytes. Among bioindicators, the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlo...