A Comparative Study of the Total ‎Frequency of Biofouling ‎Communities on Concrete, PVC ‎and Iron Panels in Kushkonar ‎Port (Persian Gulf)‎

The aim of this study was to determine the abundance of biofouling communities and compare their growth in different panels of concrete, PVC and iron in the port of Kushkonar (N W Parsian Gulf).A total of 162 panels were placed in Kushkonar port. The panels were placed by the diving team in 3 stations in March 2016. The first harvest of the panels was done after 6 months in the summer and second harvest was done in winter 2016.  A total of 162 panels were placed in Kushkonar port. Different panels (with 3 repetitions) at a depth of 5-7 meters were placed horizontally by the diving team in 3 stations in March 2016. The first harvest of the panels was done after 6 months in the summer and second harvest was done in winter 2016. Overall24 species have settled, Crustaceans (6), Gastropoda (5), Bivalvia (4), Polychaeta (10), Polyplacophora (2), Bryozoan (1) and Macroalgae( 4).The abundance  of biofouling communities in the second harvest was much higher than the first harvest. In the second harvest, the highest density of biomass was related to PVC multilayer panels with 10696.67±447.75/m-2,There were also no specimens of Polyplacophora, Polychaeta and Bryozoa in the iron panels. Also, another factor in increasing the frequency of biofouling communities on PVC multilayer panel and concrete panel, was the presence of many pores in these panels, which created a shelter for larvae to settle and thus increase their adult abundance.