U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Technical Info'rmation Service

AD-AG28 786

Final Report on MarineBiofouling Studies atAdmiralty Inlet, WashingtonNaval Oceanographic Office

Aoril 1976

SECIURITY CLASSIFICATION OF TMh5 PAGE (Whom Doe EntereAC

REPORT DOCUO ENTATION PAGE BORE COMPLEklG FOR3cJ

R EPfORT 14UW-Iaft L GOVT ACCCSSION NO, 3. RZCIPIENT*S CATALG NUMBERNO0 RP 12 14T TITLE (and $w@tl:bo) S. TYPE OF REPORT A PERIOO COVERED

FNL REPORT ON .... INE BIOFOULLNG Final. 1963-1968

STUDIES AT ADQIRALTY INLET, WASHINGTON a. PERFORMING CotG. REPCORT •uMBER

?. AUTHOR(q&) I. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER(&)

Job& R. DePalma

3. PERFORMING ORGAMIATICN NAMEi AND AOCRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASKAREA A WONX UNIT NUMUEMS

U. S. Naval Oceanographic OfficeWashington, D.C. 20373

I1. CNTROLL-NG OFFICE NAME ANO AOORMLr5 |I REPORT CATEApril 1976U. S. Naval Oceanographic Office April 197

13. NUII8ER OF PAGES20k MO0 COMING AGEN4CY NAME a AOORESS.(I @Iflemtnt fiM Cmatrelani0i1fice) IS. SEURITY CLASS. (.t this topin)

Unclassified

13a. DECLASSIrICATIONi COWNGRAAINGSCHIEOULE

14. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (at thise Repor)

Approved for public release;distribution unlimited.

17. OISTRIaUTION STATEMENT (t Uth abstract entered In Block Z0, it Witeront tromt Repoe)

II. SUPPLE•L4NTARY NOTES

It. KEY WORCS (Conginue an towers* side II necessia ry anoenltp by Nock number)

biofculingtest panelsAdmiralty Inlet, Washingtonmarine borers

20. A93T RAC7 (Continue On 1-1-100 ltdo it necoooorr and Identity by WJotk numbet)

Marine biofculing studies were conducted at Admiralty inlet, Washington,during the period August 1963 to June 1968, In support of project VA.'I.Thirty-nine species of biofoulers were collected and identified at theprimary sampling station off Indian Island. Settlement of biofoulinglarvae was found to be minimal when water temperatures were belcw !0*Cand in areas where strong currents were prevalent. in quiet waters,however, fouling organisms will add a 1 3-cm (5.:-in)-thick ccating to

DD , 1473 m-rno or I Nov i1 OSSLTE PRICES SUBIECT 10 Lt1Ai.f:5A

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0T02-014-T6601SE[CURIITY CLAS.S31I.ICATIoN OF" T P41 PAGZ (Whom Zeta S.'2r"wC

IALLUmrV CLASSIrICATtON Of T1I1 PAGICtIa Daete. Xntef

objects ina the upper water coluan, and a 2.5-cm (1-in)- coating tobottom objects. Marine borer attack on wooden test panels was con-tiuuous throughout the year and most serious near the bottom; panelswere destroyed in 6 months.

o IC• ~~~SEC•J~qtT1 CLA•S: F!CA?!•ON OPw 7141 PAOZ(Wlm 3a•' Z--,tse,:

ik

REPRODUCED BY

NATIONAL TECHNICALINFORMATION SERVICE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCESPRINGFIELD, VA. 22161

NOO RP 12

FINAL REPORT CNMARINE BIOFOULING STUDIES

AT ADMIRALTY INLET,WASHINGTON

JOHN R. DePALMA

APRIL 1976

I Approved for public release; .distribvtion unlimited.

NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20373

I/l CL_'

FOREWORD

The Naval Oceanographic Office conducted a biofouling sampling

program at Admiralty Inlet, Washington from August 1963 to June

1968 as a part of a series of biofouling studies. The kinds of

biofouling organisms, their severity and season of attachment,

distribution, and productivity are identified and related to

marine operations.

Captain, U.S. Nav,'Commander

WIN"

$ • - ..

CONTENTS

PageFOREWORD. ....... *.. so................ . . .......... o....... ........ iINTRODUCTION . . . . .. . .... . . . . . . . ... ..s e . .o

METHODS OF COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS .............................. 2RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............. ... ...... o...* .. ... st 3PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS ..................... ............ 4REFERENCES ......................................... ...... 6

FIGURES

1. Admiralty Inlet test sites ............. . ...... .7.... ..... 7

2. Marine biofouling test panel array ........................ 10

TABLES

1. Surface salinity data from Admiralty Inlet ................... 8

2. Surface temperature data from Admiralty Inlet ................ 9

3. Local abundance of biofouli'g organisms at the IndianIsland test site ............... . . . . . . . ............... 11

4. Rate of biofouling near the bottom at the IndianIsland test site .............................. 6......0...... .. 12

5. Biofouling rates for a special series of one-yeartest panels planted before, during, and after theseason of maximum settlement and growth, IndianIsland site ................................................ . 13

V vI

INTRODUCTION

A study was made of the marine biofouling communities of AdmiraltyInlet, Washington (fig. 1) during the period August 1963 to June 1968.This is one of a series of biofouling 3tudien being made by the NavalOceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) at selected locations throughout theworld to determine the character and extent of biofouling communities(fouling and boring organisms).

Specific objectives of these studies include collection of infor-mation on the kinds of attaching organisms, their season of attachment,areal distribution, and productivity. This information is then relatedtc probable effects on marine hardware and inst.uments.

The office is grateful for the assistance of Dr. Victor Zullo ofthe University of North Carolina and Dr. Ruth Turner of the HarvardMuseum of Comparative Zoology in identifying various specimens.

STUDY AREA

Admiralty Inlet, between Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsulaof Washington (fig. 1), is the major approach to Puget Sound from theStrait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean. This region is locatedwithin the Aleutian faunal province*, which extends from the AleutianChain to the Washington/Oregon border (Schenck and Keen, 1936).

The marine environment at Admiralty Inlet is typically coastal incharacter. Surface salinity values at the three exposure sites rangedfrom 29.4 ppt to 31.8 ppt (table 1). Transparency of the water isgenerally low due to a high spring and summer phytoplankton populationand a high year-round suspended material content (Univ. of Washington,1954). Based on our observations of attached algae on the test arraysthe average annual compensation depth** appears to be about 10 or 11 m(32.8 or 36.1 ft). This depth, according t- Storr (1964), is typicalfor coastal waters. Tidal currents exceeding 4 kn (206 cm/s) havebeen reported in the shallow, rather narrow inlet (USC&GS, 1965).Large-scale eddies generated by strong currents are associated withmaximum tides (Univ. of Washington, 1975). Monthly sea surfacetemperatures at the exposure sites ranged from 57.5*r (14.2 0C) inAugust to 44.5*F (6.90C) in February, as shown in table 2.

* Faunal provinces are coastal regions populated by more-or-lessdistinctive species.

** Compensation depth is the maximum depth of alge.1 production.

METHODS OF COLLECTION AN1D ANALYSIS

The principal sampling station at Admiralty Inlet (designat I"Indian Island site," fig. 1) was located 0.1 mi (0.19 km) off 1, AnIsland. The water depth at mean low water (MLW) was 15 m (49.2 ft).Secondary sampling stations were at the sites designated "Port Town-send site" end "Marrowstone site" in figure 1. These were alsoapproximately 0.1 mi (0.19 km) offshore and in 15 m (49.2 ft) ofwater.

Asbestos and pine wood panels, attached back-to-back, were usedas collectors. These test panels were 15 cm (4.1 in) wide and 30 cm(8.2 in) long. At the Indian Island site the test panels were hungfrom buoyed arrays (fig. 2). On each of these arrays a test panelwas exposed one m (3.3 ft) below the surface and another was exposedone m above the bottom. At the Port Townsend and Marrowstone exposuresites the test panels were hung from metal support racks, one m abovethe bottom. All test panels were hung vertically.

The Indian Island test panels were retrieved from the surface.The Port Townsend and Marrowstone test panels were retrieved by SCUBAdivers.

At the Indian Island site, long term (designated as "series I")panels, exposed for one month and cumulatively longer periods to 12months (and in one instanc-t to 36 months), provided information onfouling rate, growth rate, and progressive changes in communitydevelopment. Short term (designated as "series II") panels, exposedfor consecutive monthly intervals, provided information on seasonalsettlement of organisms.

Six special test panel arrays were exposed at the Indian Islandsite. These arrays were all exposed for 12 months, one each beginningin August, October, December, February, April, and June. Thesesamplings were an ,ttempt to determine the variation in fouling rate(weight per panel per year) for new substrates planted before, during,and after the season of mayimum settlement and growth of most bio-fouling organisms. Since fouling rate is a function of recruitmentplus growth, we wanted to see if one-year panels exposed at the be-ginning of the maximum growing period (April to September in northernwaters) were most productive, if panels exposed at the end ofthis period were leastt productive, and if there would be a progressionfrom each extreme. We also wanted to learn if there might also bechanges in the dominant species, since early settlers on test panelsare sometimes intraspecifically more competitive than later arrivals.

At the secondary sites (Port Townsend and Ma. rowstone), testpanels were recovered only at 6-month and 12-mor-h intervals, forcomparison with similarly exposed panels from the Indian Island site.

2

r --

After recovery the test panels and sometimes the polypropylenemooring lines were analyzed immediately or preserved in alcohol forfuture analysis. Test panel analysis consisted of identifying thevarious organisms, determining the size of the hardshelled forms, andestimating the percen: of test panel surface covered by these foulers.The fouling material was then scraped from the asbestos panels andoven-dried at approximately 100*C (212*F) until the weight was constant.This dry weight value (g/450 cm2 /unit time) provided a measure of thebiofouling productivity.

The mooring lines were examined to determine relative abundanceand depth preferences for the various foulers. The degree of wooddamage was determined by X-radiography.

Siofouling data sheets, dried biomass scrapings, X-radiographs,and a reference collection of specimens from test panels are filedunder operation number 923001 at the Naval Oceanographic Office.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Thirty-seven species of biofouling organisms were collected fromseries I and series II test panels at the Indian Island site. Theseare listed in table 3, with their year-to-year relative abundance.

Settlement of one or more species of fo'tlers occurred throughoutthe year, but minimum numbers of anima] foulers were present whenwater temperatures were below 50".l (10C). This agrees with temper-ature tolerances of animal foulert observed by many other investigators.

The organisms that attached to mooring lines, floats, and testpanels arranged themselves into two distinct assemblages - one nearthe surface and another near the bottom. The near-surface assemblagewas dominated by either mussels, algae, or barnacles, depending onwhich species was most abundant at the time of exposure, or perhapsits ability to compete once attached. The near-bottom assemblage wasalways dominated by barnacles. Fouling on the mooring lines (mussels,algae, hydroids, tVnicates, and tubeworms) tended to occur in clumpsand clusters that diminished in size and frequency toward the bottom.

Dry weight data from series I bottom panels (table 4) showed awide spread of values. The lack of a steady increase in weight isthe result of occasional heavy grazing by predators (starfish, sea-urchins), which were common at the exposure sites.

Although the surface temperature and salinity records (tables 1and 2) at the three sites in Admiralty Inlet were similar, the Marrow-stone bottom fouling community turned out to be quite different fromthe bottom communities at the Indian Islz,-id and the Port Townsendsites. Test panels exposed at Marrowstone coliucted only trace amounts

3

of encrusting bryozoans (TubuliprLa) and coralline algae (Lithcthamnion),wh,ýreus test panels from the other two sites colle:ted substantialamounts of barnacles, bryozoans, and tubeworms. The likely explanationis that the Indian Island and Port Townsend sites were in quiet water,while the Marrowstone sie was subjected to prolonged periods of strongcurrents and turbulence. Biofouling larvae settle with great diffi-culty at current speeds greater than 1.5 kn (77 cm/s), and newlysettled larvae are torn loose from the substrate at current speedsgreater than 3.5 kn (180 cm/s) (Doochin and Smith, 1951).

Test panels exposed at Indian Island for three years looked verymuch like those exposed for one year. The longer exposures merelyproduced more and somewhat larger specimens of the same species. TheIndian Island community of foulers looked very much like tLose foundalong the east coast of the United States north of Cape Cod and alongthe coast of northern Europe. Many of the dominants at Indian Islandwere, in fact, the same circumpolar species found along the Atlanticcoasts (Balanus crenatus, Mytilus edulis, Laminaria saccharina).

The results of the special series of one-year exposures at IndianIsland were inconclusive, as can be seen in table 5. Seasonal effect,if any, was masked by the greater effect of variable settlement of thedominants near the surface and haphazard grazing by predators near thebottom.

Wooden test panels were attacked throughout the year by the largeand very destructive molluscan borer, Bankia setacea. Panels near thebottom at Indian Island were most severely attacked, collecting morethan 50 borers per panel in 6 months. The largest tunnel found in a6-month panel measured 22 cm (8.7 in) in length and one cm (0.4 in)in diameter at the working end.

The crustacean borer Limnoria lignorum was less destructive thanBankia setacea at the three offshore exposure sites. Limnoria arepoor swimmers and do not migrate far from their shoreline broodsites.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Animal foulers in Admiralty Inlet settle and grow mostly inspring and summer. In one year in quiet waters they can add a 13-cm(5.l-in)-thick coating to objects moored in the upper 12 m (39 ft)of the water column, and a 2.5-cm (l-in)-thick encrustation ofhardshelled forms to bottom objects. In winter months large kelpsmay attach and by the end of summer they will have grown fronds aslong as 6 m (20 ft). In exposed locations, turbulent water asso-ciated with strong tidal currents will tend to retard the settlementof both animals and plants.

4

Borers are a serious wood destroyer in this region. They werepresent in sufficient nu,-bers at the Indian Island test site to havedestroyed the bearing power of untreated marine pilings in cne year*.

Antifouling protection of instruments and underwater ha,'dwarewill be required at all depthE in this region. Triphenyl leadacetate coatings will prevent settlement of both plant and animal

foulers near the surface. Less expensive cuprous oxide cc.tingsare recommended for mid-water and bottom objects. All woodenstructures should be, at least, treated with creosote.

* Persona' communicatioti, Dr. Paul Trussell, British Columbia Research

Corporation.

5

REFERENCES

Doochin, H. and F.G.W. Smith, Marine boring and fouling in relation tovelor~ity of water currents, Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf and Carib, v.lti.3,196-208, 1951.

Schenck, H.G. and M.A. Keen, Marine molluscan provinces of westernNorth America, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., v.76,n.6, 921-938, 1936.

Storr, J.F., Ecology and oceanography of the coral reef tracK, AbacoIsland, Bahamas, Special Paper 79, Geol. Soc. Am., 1964.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Tidal current tables, Pacific coast ofNorth America and Asia, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,1965.

University of Washington, Department of Oceanography, A literature surveyof Puget Sound and approaches, V.3, Seattle, Wash., 1954.

6

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Figure 1. Admiralty Inlet Test Sites

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- 10

Local Abundance* ___-

Organism 1ot Yr 2nd Yr 3rd Yr 4th Yr

Algae-.~Ulva lactuca xxx - xx -xxx - xx -NereocysiT3Tuetkeana xx - - -xx - xxx -Maroy2 tis- ~inte folia xx - x - x - x -

Laminoia maccharina ~ x -X xx - x -cldphr sp. xxx - Xxxx, - lxx -xxDsaetxmunda x xxt xx - xx -x

Del e ssaariEa-d-ie s x -xx!- x -Porphyra variegaa Ix X - - -

Ceratium sp, Ix -

Costaria costata XXX1PoyipF--' sp. Ix x -

aeeoh rd~ia abietiria x --

Entermorpa sp.- -j- jx I-Coe enerata: x

Cly4a sp x -xx x 1XX X IXEu e-ndrium sp. x - xix xxix xPlumul-a-rl'a setacea 1 xx - .x - xEpiacti's Uri ýerax -- x - x -

Tuhulipora flabellaris lxx 1x - X 1XJ2ohahyila xx xx ix xxMembranipo-ra--Mra ______ x - I- Jx x -I- xicro or Tl californi'ca I- xI - -t ! x

Cribrilina anriulata___________pom ________isix xx X xx 1xx XX xxxSerp!;la- vermicula---is - - - Ix xx -Sprobi x;p. Ix I

I X x IArthropoda: XXBalanus crenatus Ax Xxxxx x x xx x :xxxBalanus heseerius xx xx XX 1xx 'xx xx

aanus cariosus - -Ixl -lx - :- -X

Uiriinoa lignorum Ix" x b xi xblxxb'xxb XxbMollusca: IxbxIb

Bankia setacea 1x~xbxxbixxb~xxbjxxb xxb!ibMyiu edulis -x 1xxx1-i xx 1 - 'xxx'

-Po&odesmus macroshisma 1XX xx xl - x'xXHiatella arcti1ca - x xx~x xxx x

Tunicata: x 1 xPyura haustor x -Xx

Styela ltunca ta x - -

Chelyosoma Productum x - X xx - x -

=Botenia villosa I- - -x

*xxx =Dominant; 40% or greater coverage on series I panels.xx =Common; less than 40% cc',erage but occurs frequently.x -Rare; never exceeds 1% coverage or occurs only rarely.

=~ Marine borer; found consistently in series I wooden panels.x =Marine borer; found only rarely in series I wooden panels.

Table 3. Local abundance of biofouling organismsat the Indian Island tes~, ,.te

Months of 1st Year 2d Year 3d 'ear CumulativeExposure 1963-64 1964-65 1965-66 1964-67

1 1 2

2 2 6

3 - ) 13 10

4 18 16

5 76 19 1

6 83 19

7 74 I 1I1

8 40 6 3

9 21 17 31

10 16 125 94

11 - - 67

12 136 107

36 140

Table 4. Rate of biofouling near thebottom at the Indian Island test site,Admiralty Inlet, Washington, expressedas g/450 cm2 /panel.

12

Dates Panel * Dry Weigh Dominant Foulers

Depth(m) (g/450 cm D n o

Aug.'66-Aug.'67 1.5 65 Mytilus and algae

Oct.'66-Oct.'67 1.5 163 barnacles

Dec.'66-Dec.'67 1•i 287 barnacles and algae

Feb.'67-Feb.'63 1.5 594 barnacles and Mytilus

AprE067-Aor.'68 1.5 587 barnacles and Mytilus

Jun.'67-Jun.'68 1.5 151 1ytlus 2

Aug.'06-Aug.167 13 5 barnacles

Oct.'66-Oct.'67 13.5 2 bNarnacles

Dec.'66-Dec.'67 13.5 16 barnaclcts

Feb.'67-Feb.'68 13.5 87 barnacles

Apr.'67-Apr.'68 13.v J3 barnacles

Jun.'67-Jun.'68 13.5 8 barnacles

*1 m = 3.3 ft

Table 5. Biofouling rates for a special series ofone-year test panels planted before, during, andafter the season of maximum settlement and growth,Indian Island site, Admiralty Inlet, Washington.

13