AS-07 FOULING ASSEMBLAGE

To demonstrate a favorable man made environmental impact. A fine selection of fouling organisms are collected from wharf pilings and floating docks within hours of shipment. Using the famed Japanese oyster strings of the mariculture business we have been able to culture a wide variety of hydroids, sponges, sea grapes and other tunicates, bryozoans as well as large barnacles, small mussels, and oysters. The fouling growths are loaded with skeleton shrimp, amphipods, porcelain crabs, zebra shrimp, nudibranchs, polychaetes, tiny flatworms, and sometimes jellyfish larvae. The sponges are frequently riddled with small pink sea anemones and scyllid worms. Sometimes blennies are provided. Life on the wharf pilings constantly changes with the seasons. The abundant crustaceans serve as an excellent live food for other organisms as witnessed by the hordes of fish that remain around wharves. While some sensitive filter feeders of the fouling community may be short-lived in the aquarium, others may survive for months and even years