Investigating the effect of temporal variation on fouling settlement using a rapid assay method

Biological fouling in the tropical marine environment is ubiquitous and occurs all year round. However, the fouling composition and settlement rates may differ, particularly due to hydrological factors. This may present many challenges in evaluating field performance of antifouling coatings. For short duration field testing, i.e., rapid field assessment, it may be difficult to reconcile differences in field activity for novel antifouling assays carried out at different immersion periods in a year, especially when there is little knowledge of temporal variation in fouling settlement. To understand how fouling settlement may vary over different periods, this study used a rapid field assessment method to examine fouling settlement on four types of control coatings at five different immersion periods over a year. Results suggested that antifouling assessment of coatings, using short duration assays (2–4 weeks), can be carried out all year round without being confounded by temporal variation. This study demonstrates, for practitioners, the significance of gaining insights on the effect of temporal variation in fouling settlement within a tropical marine environment in Singapore.