ys PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM VOL. 125 
Fouling communities include not only various sessile organisms 
(barnacles, mussels, bryozoans, tube worms, tunicates, sponges, algae, 
etc.) that attach themselves to submerged structures, but also many 
free-living forms associated with them. The free-living animals may 
feed on the sedentary forms, find cover among them, and exhibit 
various degrees of symbiosis with them. Among the nonsedentary 
forms commonly found in the fouling association are isopods, 
tanaidaceans, and other Crustacea. 
The isopods and tanaidaceans reported in this paper were ex- 
tracted from samples of fouling scraped from buoys and their moorings 
in the coastal waters of the United States. As mentioned above, these 
collections were made during World War II in connection with a 
survey of marine fouling conducted by Woods Hole Oceanographic 
Institution. Biological objectives included determination of the 
amount and kinds of fouling, rates of accretion, regional and seasonal 
variation, and ecological factors affecting establishment of fouling 
organisms. Much valuable systematic, ecological, and distributional 
data may be derived from investigations of this sort. Such informa- 
tion is needed badly for most invertebrate groups, especially in 
regions in which the biota has not been investigated adequately. 
Besides intrinsic interest, the biological data also might have 
practical application in the development of more effective methods for 
control of fouling. Additionally, it was thought that data on buoy 
fouling could provide clues as to the origin and possibly the course of 
drifting mines and military flotsam. Cosmopolitan or widely dis- 
tributed forms obviously would be of little or no value as tracers. 
Attached forms clearly would serve the purpose better than free- 
living types. In any event, the distributional limits of species that 
might be found on buoys would have to be established definitely 
before any valid conclusions could be drawn. Unfortunately, our 
present biogeographical knowledge of most invertebrates is too in- 
complete to be of much help in determining origin or drift. 
The results of the marine fouling survey are incorporated in a 
treatise on marine fouling and its prevention that has been pub- 
lished by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1952). The present 
paper extends the preliminary account of the Isopoda and Tan- 
aidacea given in that publication. 
Mernops.—The buoy fouling survey was initiated in 1943. Biologists 
were assigned to various naval districts with authorization to accom- 
pany buoy tenders of the U.S. Coast Guard in order to investigate 
fouling on buoys when they were relieved, serviced, or otherwise 
tended. Generally, at this time, the buoy with mooring chain and 
anchor were hoisted onto the deck, which gave the biologists an 
opportunity for observation and sampling. 
