Seasonal settlement and succession of fouling communities in Kalpakkam, east coast of India

Seasonal distribution and community succession of macrofoulants were studied using concrete panels in the coastal waters of Kalpakkam, east coast of India, for a period of two years. The panels were suspended at 1 m, 4 m and 7 m depths and categorised into short-term and long-term exposures. A high total of 105 fouling taxa were recorded. The major fouling organisms observed were hydroids, barnacles, mussels, anthozoans and ascidians. Considerable faunistic and biomass variations were noticed both with respect to season and depth. The month of panel exposure had a significant influence on the succession of fouling communities. On the short-term panels, the maximum fouling biomass was 64 kg m^–2 in 30 days at 4 m depth, whereas on the long-term panels, it was 250 kg m^–2 after 216 days at 4 m depth. A comparison with the biomass values reported from elsewhere shows that biomass build-up in Kalpakkam coastal waters is one of the highest ever reported. Such a very high biomass accumulation is due to the extremely dense settlement of mussels, especially the green mussel,Perna viridis (L).