Bio-fouling is a phenomenon in which colonization of biological organisms on the immersed objects. Many times it creates financial loss and problematic also.
Dear Geddada,
Is precise the study of the ecological niche of the invasive species involved in the event. Without an ecological perspective is not possible understood the problem. Many technicians focused the biofouling as an engineering issue and fail in their predictions because they envisioned the nature as a black box. For my point view the restoration of environments with biofouling should be with the aid of the people, which many times are in accord with the presence of alien species. For instance, the north american trout in the peruvian Andes is now considered as income source for the people. This species was introduced in some lakes during the early years of the century XX, where the trout feeding on the herbivore fishes.The consequence was the bloom of certain aquatic plants due the absence of the native herbivore fishes. Unfortunately during the Fujimori's government, the food for trouts was subsidized by the state and many "breeders" were growing in detriment of the Andean rivers and lakes. The biofouling appear as a very complex phenomena and a position within the political ecology is necessary to attack the problem. Is not just the introduction of predators or reduction of phosphates in the water, you have to agree on whether or not to eliminate biofouling.
Thank you Dr Jose for your kind information, you said correctly it is complex phenomenon, due to this local fishermen faced serious problems and some times their livelihood may be affected.
The organo tin, tributyl tin, used to be the "go to" antifouling paint but has since been banned, for very sound environmental reasons plus serious concerns about impact to human health; the organotins can bioconcentrate within the food web. There are some copper-based paints on the market. We know at least some cupric salts (and probably copper in general) can be harmful to molluscs. Overall there is an ongoing debate about the potential environmental harm of these copper-based paints and the legality of their usage varies across regions. Some new approaches low-impact approaches are being explored but we don't seem to be there quite yet.
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