Preliminary data on the early stage of the development of a macrofouling community on samples of toxic and inert polymeric materials in the black sea

At the Gelendzhik Center for Climate Testing. G. V. Akimov Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” (Gelendzhik) studied the early stage of development of the fouling community on the surface of samples of polyester resin without fillers, as well as with fillers in the form of sawdust, TiO₂, ZnO, Cr₂O₃, PbO₂, the content of which was 10% of sample mass. In all cases, after 60 days of exposure, macrofouling covered at least 50% of the surface of each sample. The community was dominated by Cryptosula pallasiana. Subdominants were juvenile specimens of Mytilus galloprovincialis, Mytilaster lineatus, Amphinalanus improvisus, as well as algae Ulva intestinalis and Ceramium sp. Since recently settled individuals of bivalve mollusks were found on the surface of most samples, often in high abundance, and the number of recently settled barnacles was small, it can be assumed that the next stage of succession will be a community dominated by mollusks of the family Mytilidae. Thus, under the experimental conditions, the succession of the fouling community on the surface of the studied samples is similar, but not identical, to the studied early succession of the fouling community on the surface of copper-containing antifouling coatings. The results of the work showed that none of the tested fillers in concentrations up to 10% by weight provides effective protection of samples from macrofouling. It can be assumed that protection against fouling of polymeric materials by adding toxic substances to the polymer composition is ineffective.