Short-term testing of antifouling surfaces: the importance of colour.
Data from short-term biofouling assays are frequently used to evaluate the performance of antifouling (AF) coatings. There are a large number of factors, however, that may influence community development. One such factor is colour. The hypothesis was that differences in colour may impact the short-term development of a biofouling community and therefore bias the results. An experiment was designed to investigate the effect of black and white substrata on settlement of fouling organisms in the field. Both Ulva sp. and Spirorbis sp. had significantly higher settlement on black surfaces. This result emphasises the importance of considering colour and other factors when undertaking short-term testing of AF coatings.
Swain
Geoffrey
G
Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida 32901, USA. swain@fit.edu
Herpe
Stephanie
S
Ralston
Emily
E
Tribou
Melissa
M
D000179:Acrylates; D000818:Animals; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D001681:Biological Assay; D003116:Color; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D010150:Paint; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000254:growth & development*; D044445:Ulva / Q000254:growth & development*
D000179:Acrylates; C036658:acrylic acid