Environmental Effects on the Adhesion of Entermorpha clathrata.

Abstract

The green alga Enteromorpha has been implicated as the predominant organism in the fouling of present-day oil tankers. This alga adheres to the hulls of ships by means of an adhesive matrix composed of carbohydrate and protein. The adhesiveness of this matrix has been found to be influenced by such environmental factors as light, darkness, temperature, and calcium. Light and darkness are correlated with degradative enzymes, while calcium is implicated in causing a hardening of the adhesive matrix. The light effect appears to initiate a phytochrome response which regulates those degradative enzymes responsible for decreasing adhesion. Temperature is indirectly related to adhesion by affecting growth. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 18, 1979
Accession Number
ADA079922

Entities

People

  • John Campbell Iii

Organizations

  • Pennsylvania State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antifouling
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Pigments
  • Carbohydrates
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Flow
  • Fungi
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Materials
  • Navy
  • Photosynthesis
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Three Dimensional
  • Universities
  • Visible Spectra

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Marine Ecotoxicology
  • Microbial Pathology
  • Surface Coatings Technology.