Larvae of fouling organisms and macrofouling at New Mangalore Port, west coast of India

Abstract

Polychaetes, bryozoans, barnacles and ascidians were the dominant groups in the fouling community at New Mangalore Port. Polychaete and cirripede larvae were encountered throughout the year. Even though bivalve were present in the planktonic hauls throughout the year, their representation in the macrofouling community was not prominent and yielded a poor correlation with recruitment. Bryozoan and ascidian larvae were sparsely encountered but indicated as significant correlation with their recruitment in macrofouling community.