Interspecific variation in patterns of adhesion of marine fouling to silicone surfaces |
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| Authors: | Eric R Holm Christopher J Kavanagh Anne E Meyer Deborah Wiebe Brian T Nedved Dean Wendt |
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| Institution: | 1. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division , West Bethesda, Marylanderic.holm@navy.mil;3. Department of Marine &4. Environmental Systems , Florida Institute of Technology , Melbourne, Florida;5. Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces, University at Buffalo , New York;6. Altran Corporation , Boston, Massachusetts;7. Kewalo Marine Laboratory , University of Hawaii , Honolulu, Hawaii;8. Biological Sciences Department , California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo, California |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The adhesion of six fouling organisms: the barnacle Balanus eburneus, the gastropod mollusc Crepidula fornicata, the bivalve molluscs Crassostrea virginica and Ostrea/Dendrostrea spp., and the serpulid tubeworms Hydroides dianthus and H. elegans, to 12 silicone fouling-release surfaces was examined. Removal stress (adhesion strength) varied among the fouling species and among the surfaces. Principal component analysis of the removal stress data revealed that the fouling species fell into two distinct groups, one comprising the bivalve molluscs and tubeworms, and the other the barnacle and the gastropod mollusc. None of the silicone materials generated a minimum in removal stress for all the organisms tested, although several surfaces produced low adhesion strengths for both groups of species. These results suggest that fouling-release materials do not rank (in terms of adhesion strength) identically for all fouling organisms, and thus development of a globally-effective hull coating will continue to require testing against a diversity of encrusting species. |
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| Keywords: | Adhesion strength fouling organisms silicone surfaces fouling-release interspecific variation |
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