PART A 

 ANALIBIS OF TEST BOARD RESULTS 



Section 1 - GENERAL 



Al.Ol Prevalonce and Dee true tlveness of Marine Borers 



Test "board data Indicate that destructive marine "borers are 

 very widely dlatrituted. Various species of "borers have "been found 

 in most coastal waters, and it is pro"bahle that no port in any part 

 of the world is entirely free from "borer attack. 



Eecent studies have hrought to light the great influence of 

 local conditions on "borer activities, although sufficient data are not 

 availa"ble to evaluate the particular effects of local factors, such as 

 currents, depth of water, degree of salinity, temperature, and pollution. 

 Thus it has "been thought that in the tropics marine "borers are not only 

 more numerous "but are more destructive, "because it is a fact that they 

 grow and "breed more rapidly in warm waters. But recent studies in 

 northern harljors show that the maximum po3si"ble rate of "borer destruction 

 in tim"ber piling may occur in Uewfoundland and Alas lea as well as in 

 locations near the equator. 



For exanrple, sections of piles 22 inches to 15 inches in diameter 

 have "been totally destroyed "by marine "borers in six months or less in 

 such widely separated areas as Alaska; Newfoundland; Nova Scotiaj Fire 

 Island, H. Y.J Mayport, Fla,; Puerto Ricoj and San Francisco, Calif. 



Lack of knowledge of the presence of destructive marine 

 organisms in a given area, or failure to anticipate the extensive damage 

 that such "borers can cause, dou"btless accounts for many costly repairs 

 which have "been required on shipysird docks, launchwaya, ramps, piers, 

 and various other structures. In some cases, wartime structures, haatily 

 "built and perhaps designed for only occeisional or limited use, have "been 

 severely damaged "by "borers in only two or three years of service. 



In still other cases, large and costly structures "built around 

 1941 for naval and other governmental uses, in this country and ahroaid, 

 have Iseen entirely destroyed "by "borer activities. The losses thus 

 incurred run into many millions of dollars. 



The accumulation of data from the test "board research program 

 will, therefore, "be of great economic as well as scientific value. 



