title: Marine epibiosis : II. Reduced fouling on Polysyncraton lacazei (Didemnidae, Tunicata) and proposal of an antifouling potential index.
abstract: Polysyncraton lacazei is a colonial tunicate (family didemnidae) living in the NW-mediterranean rocky sublitoral. A thorough scanning of numerous colonies revealed that in spite of an apparently heavy local fouling pressure only one fouling species - a kamptozoan - is encountered with some regularity on Polysyncraton. We try to define the epibiotic situation of sessile marine organisms as composed of four epibiotic parameters: longevity or exposure time (A), epibiont load (E), colonizer pool (CP) and fouling-period (FP). Subsequently, these factors are combined to propose an "Antifouling Potential" index: AFP=(1-E/CP)×A/(FP+A). This index is intended to permit evaluating the relative antifouling defense potency to be expected in a given organism in a given epibiotic situation and to compare different cases of epibiosis and fouling.
authors.affiliation: Zoologisches Institut der Universität Kiel, D-2300, Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.affiliation: Lab. Arago, F-66650, Banyuis/mer, France.
authors.forename: Francoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lafargue
keywords: Antifouling potential index; Ascidian; Epibiosis; Epibiotic parameters; Polysyncraton lacazei