Diatom colonization on stainless steel panels in estuarine waters of Goa, west coast of India

Abstract

Temporal variations in diatom fouling was investigated at the Dona Paula Bay located at the mouth of the Zuari Estuary, Goa, India. Stainless steel panels admeasuring 15 x 10 cm were exposed to the environment every month for four consecutive days, over a period of one year (March '96 to February '97). Qualitative and quantitative enumeration of the diatoms from the fouling film as well as that from the water column was carried out. The surrounding waters were dominated by the centrales whereas the pennates were abundant in the fouling film. The pennate diatom Navicula was the most dominant genera both in the water column and the fouling film. The population of the diatoms in the environment did not change much during the course of four days of exposure in a given month, except during the bloom of Skeletonema which was observed in September. The accumulation rate of diatom cells with respect to period of exposure was not linear on most of the occasions. The centric diatom blooms in the ambient waters did not have significant influence on the diatom composition of the fouling film.