Numerous stalked marine animals up to 2-1/2 inches long were attached 
perpendicularly to the surface of metal specimens. These organisms are also a specie 
of hydroid (Figure 19). 
Fouling organisms such as barnacles and bryozoa were not found on any of the 
test specimens, Barnacles were of special concern because pits could result from 
localized oxygen-concentration cells formed on the surface of the metal beneath 
barnacle growth.!4 There are reports of finding barnacle species in the deep ocean, !5 
Nonmetal Specimens. Hydroid growth was found on all the nonmetal test 
specimens such as painted and coated panels and plastic and elastomer materials. 
Numerous calcareous tube worms were found on the painted and coated panels, 
and on an acrylic sheet which was exposed about 8 feet above the sediment (Figure 16). 
A spiraled white calcareous worm tube was attached to the vinyl-painted metal test 
specimen holder about 6 feet above the bottom sediment (Figure 20). 
A worm tube about 4 inches long which was made of fine sands and other 
materials was found attached to a painted test panel exposed about 5 feet above 
the bottom sediment (Figure 21). The materials used in the fabrication of this tube 
were of much smaller composition compared to the materials used to form the tube in 
Figure 17, 
Marine Growth on Biological Test Materials 
As soon as the STU was placed aboard the ship, it was examined for the presence 
of marine animals which were not attached to any of the test panels. The animals were 
collected and preserved in a 5-percent glycerol - alcohol solution for classification in 
the laboratory. One was a white lobsterlike crustacean with pinchers (Figure 22). The 
specimen was sent to the Smithsonian Institution for classification. It was identified 
as a galatheid lobster, Munidopsis verrilli Benedict (family Galatheidae). The animals 
found in the deep-ocean environment are normally dark colored, and finding a white 
crustacean on the ocean floor in 5,300 feet of water is very unusual. 
The test panels secured to the lower portion of the STU were buried in the 
sediment as planned because samples of bottom mud were found adhered to the sur- 
face of a number of these test panels. 
When the vinyl-painted biological test specimen holders were examined in the 
laboratory, it was found that the lower section of the "U" channel iron exposed near 
the sediment, expecially the area in contact with the rope specimens, had turned 
black (Figure 23). This was probably the result of hydrogen sulfide produced by the 
sulfate-reducing bacteria combining with the lead in the paint to form lead sulfide, 
which is black. The area under the decaying rope specimen where slime bacteria 
were active could have produced an anaerobic environment suitable for the growth 
of sulfate-reducing microorganisms, Except for the change in color, neither the paint 
nor the metal underneath the painted surface was damaged. Species of pectens and 
limpets were found on the painted surface exposed near the sediment (Figure 24). 
24 
