ABSTRACT 



This report is an analysis of the data of a marine biological 

 fouling program conducted from April 1956 to November 1959 

 in the approaches to Chesapeake Bay. The data presented in 

 H.O. TR-47 (1958) are incorporated in this report. Curved steel 

 test panels, bottom test cylinders, and steel stakes were used to 

 collect data. 



Collateral oceanographic and meteorologic data were taken 

 in conjunction with monthly fouling observations. There were 

 four stations in all, which were occupied as near the midmonth 

 as possible. Thus, a period of one-month is designated as April- 

 May, May— June, etc. 



Hydroids, which set in April— May, were the first foulers of the 

 calendar year and the last in December— January. Maximum 

 growth in weight occurred in July— September for the study area. 

 The onset of foulers was governed for the most part by whether 

 water temperatures were above or below approximately 65° F, 

 though some attachment occurred in colder water. There was 

 very little to no set from November— December to March— April; 

 however, growth continued at a slightly reduced rate throughout 

 the cold months. 



Twelve-month test panel growth ranged from 31 to 38 ounces 

 per square foot. Barnacles, bryozoans, hydroids, tunicates, 

 calcareous tubeworms, amphipod tubes, and jingle shells pre- 

 dominate in the fouling complex. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Acknowledgment is made of the continued cooperation of 

 the Harbor Defense Unit, Norfolk, Virginia in providing divers and 

 small craft necessary for environmental and fouling data collec- 

 tion. Messrs. Willis S. Glidden, James A. Bruce, and Alfred P. 

 Franceschetti of this Office contributed considerably by their 

 analyses of the fouling test panels, as did the many other ocea- 

 nographers who conducted the field research. 



