Observation on fouling organisms collected from Indian naval ships at Bombay

Abstract

Fouling organisms collected from Indian Naval Ships dry-docked at Bombay during a period of two years (July 1956-June 1958) were studied in detail. Forty six of the forms collected have been identified. The most important groups of ship-fouling Organisms in Bombay waters are Barnacles, Hydroids, Polyzoans and Tube-worms. Eleven different Fouling Communities have been found to dominate the settlements on the hulls at different occasions. Definite zonations that could be observed were restriction of green algae to the boot-top area and mussels and oysters to the pipes and gratings. An attempt has been made to find the sequence of settlement of the different major fouling groups. Some general remarks on the observations have also been included.