5.0 EXPOSURE PANELS 



by C. Drew Harvell, Kenneth A. Simon and Andrew McCusker 



Normandeau Associates, Inc. 

 Bedford, N. H. 



INTRODUCTION 



Submerged hard substrates become overgrown by plant and 

 animal assemblages known as fouling communities. Hydroids , mussels, 

 tunicates, and marine borers are the predominant community constituents, 

 while motile species form a more transient component of the assemblage. 

 Epibiotic communities may accelerate deterioration of wooden structures 

 or foul power station cooling systems and ship bottoms (Battelle, 1977) . 

 Exposure panels of various sizes and materials have been widely used for 

 the study of fouling communities (Pomerat and Weiss, 1946). 



The exposure panel component of the New Haven Harbor Station 

 Ecological Monitoring Studies was designed to evaluate the impact of the 

 generating station operations on abundance, distribution, and seasonal 

 patterns of populations attached to artificial substrates in New Haven 

 Harbor. Information concerning the abundance and distribution of 

 fouling organisms in New Haven Harbor was collected preoperationally , 

 (July 1970 through July 1975) , and operationally (July 1975 through 

 October 1977) as part of The United Illuminating Company's baseline and 

 monitoring programs . These data have been presented and evaluated in a 

 series of reports prepared from 1970 through the current year (Raytheon, 

 1970a, 1970b, 1971; NAI, 1973a, 1974a, 1974b, 1975a, 1976a, 1977a, 

 1978) . 



Fouling organisms were sampled on short- (1-month) and long- 

 term (1-year) exposure panels. Short-term panels provide information 

 regarding times and lengths of reproductive periods for species colo- 

 nizing relatively bare panel surfaces. Long-term panels yield infor- 

 mation on temporal sequences as well as seasonal growth patterns 



5-1 



