The population distribution on methylsilicone coatings is different from that on other substrata. Biofilms included bacteria and protists of many different species, and biodiversity was different on different test substrata. Methylsilicone polymeric coatings supported the least diverse biofilms. These results indicate that, by coating ballast tanks with nontoxic, corrosion-resistant methylsilicones, transferrable biodiversity can be controlled. In this voyage, ballast water was released and taken on several times.
Further analyses are in progress.
Acknowledgments Smithsonian Environmental Research Center - Dr. Greg Ruiz, Dr. Linda McCann, Safra Altman, Karen Davis Old Dominion Univ.