The density of five major groups at fouling organisms Ibacteria, diatoms, choanotlagellates, ciliates, macroorganisms) on seven artilicial substrata with surface tensions between 19.0 and 64.5 mN m ' was studied in the Gulf at Thailand. Two series of test panels r the different substrata were immersed into the sea between 3 hours and 64 days (macrotauna 128 days). The results show that surface tension has ,t limited impact on the density of the organisms. Only bacteria settled conlinuously in signilicantly lower numbers on materials within the minimum bioadheslw2 range (20-25 mN m ') than on other substrata. Signifi(:dn[ differences between the substrata may disappear after long exposure, as in series 2 after 16days For diatoms and protozoa, a colonisation pattern similar to thdt of bacteria with a minimum ol 20-25 mN m : was detected alter severdl exposure intervals, l.lowever, it was never recor(ted m more than 3 exl)osure intervals in a row. The colonisation pattern of macroorganisms could not be attributed Io substratum surface tension. An index, called "colonisation degree" is introduced to give a gene.~ral impression at the density of organisms on the materials tested. The colonisation degree did not show any signilicant difference at any exposure interval. The present results clearly suggest that substratum surface tension is easily overshadowed by other factors in colonisation processes under natural conditions.
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