Monitoring of biofouling communities in a Portuguese port using a combined morphological and metabarcoding approach.

ABSTRACT: Marine biofouling remains an unsolved problem with a serious economic impact on several marine associated industries and constitutes a major vector for the spread of non-indigenous species (NIS). The implementation of biofouling monitoring programs allows for better fouling management and also for the early identification of NIS. However, few monitoring studies have used recent methods, such as metabarcoding, that can significantly enhance the detection of those species. Here, we employed monthly monitoring of biofouling growth on stainless steel plates in the Atlantic Port of Leixões (Northern Portugal), over one year to test the effect of commercial anti-corrosion paint in the communities. Fouling organisms were identified by combining morpho-taxonomy identification with community DNA me

SUBMITTER: Azevedo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7417558 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature