THE FORMULATION OF A 'PRIMARY FILM' ON MATERIALS SUBMERGED IN SEA WATER AT PORT HUENEME, CALIFORNIA.
Abstract
Samples of structural materials were placed in the water at Port Hueneme and were removed after immersion periods of one hour to ten weeks. The object of the investigation was to study the qualitative and quantitative aspects of microbial attachment to surfaces prior to macroscopic fouling. At one site, an orderly sequence of microbial succession occurred. The initial organisms of attachment, the bacteria, were supplanted by diatoms, hydroids, algae and barnacles respectively. At the same site, in a different year, the clear delineation of phases was not discernible. The number of bacteria was comparatively small in the initial stages were diatoms. It appears that the presence of bacteria accelerates fouling but their absence does not negate fouling. When slides were simultaneously placed at two different sites and one of these sites was in the immediate vicinity of existing heavy fouling, the sequence and rate of fouling was altered. The initial stages were brief in duration and consisted of yeasts as well as bacteria and diatoms. The latter stages of primary film formation consisted of a wide variety of organisms similar to those already existing nearby. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0820261
Entities
People
- Gary Wilcox
- Thomas B. O'neill
Organizations
- Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center