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Seasonal Occurrence of Epifauna on Test Panels In Hampton Roads, Virginia
Calder, Dale R. Brehmer, Morris L.
Calder, Dale R.
Brehmer, Morris L.
Abstract
A two-year study was made on settling patterns of some marine epifaunal frmcrtebrales in the port of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Asbestos fiber test panels, submerged to a depth of 5 m from a pier at the Norfolk Navy Base, wf:re used as substrates. The fouling assemblage consisted of species characteristic of the temperate North American Atlantic coast. Over half of the 41 species identified were either coelenterates or arthropods, although sponges, tttrbellarians, ectoprocts, J>olychaetes, mollusks, and ascidians were present as well. Four species, Aselomaris michaeli, Clytia edwardsi, Obelia bicuspidata and 0. commissuralis, all hydroids, represent new distributional records for Virginia. The large annual range of water temperature results in distinct seasonal patterns of settlement. Attachment was heaviest froni May to November and lightest fi·om January to March. Barnacles (Balanus improvisus) were prevalent during spring and autumn, while ascidians (Molgula manhattensis, Botryllus schlosseri) and serpulids (Hydroides hexagona) were predominant in summer. Only Balanus improvisus occurred on the panels throughout the year.
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1967
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Biological Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles
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Virginia Institute of Marine Science