The term fouling, or more specifically biofouling, is used to describe the growth and accumulation of living organisms on the surfaces of submerged artificial structures as opposed to natural surfaces. Concern over and interest in fouling arises from practical considerations including the enormous costs resulting from fouling of ships, buoys, floats, pipes, cables and other underwater man-made structures.

From its first immersion in the sea, an artificial structure or surface changes through time as a result of a variety of influences including location, season and other physical and biological variables. Fouling communities growing on these structures are biological entities and must be understood developmentally. The development of a fouling community on a bare, artificial surface immersed in the sea displays a form of succession, similar to that seen in terrestrial ecosystems, which culminates in a community which may be considered a climax stage. Scientists have identified two distinct...