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Variations in biofilms colonizing artificial surfaces: seasonal effects and effects of grazers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

M.J. Anderson
Affiliation:
Marine Studies Centre, Marine Ecology Laboratories All, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia

Extract

The colonization of microscopic organisms, commonly called a biofilm, was examined on fibreglass panels situated intertidally at Quibray Bay of Botany Bay in New South Wales, Australia. Panels were examined by incident light microscopy, measuring percentage cover, and by a computer image analysis technique, measuring optical density. Optical density was positively correlated with and was therefore a reliable estimate of total percentage cover of the biofilm. Optical density has not been used before in this application and, although some drawbacks are discussed, it is a much more efficient sampling method than microscopic examination of panels.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1995

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