Abstract
Fouling was studied on ships travelling five main shipping routes in the Far East. Monodominant fouling communities of living sessile organisms comprising 18 to 49 species per ship were found. The biomass density varied from 573 to 4198g/m2. A latitudinal gradient of decreasing biomass density was observed from the most southern (Haiphong, Vietnam) to the most northern (Anadyr, Russia) transport route. The maximum number of species per ship showed the same pattern. The species-diversity index increased towards the south, but it abruptly decreased for the ships of the Russia-Vietnam route. The predominance of the barnacles Balanus improvisus and B. amphitrite on ships of the Russia-Japan routes is an indication that these ships may facilitate the introduction of these species to Peter the Great Bay. An analysis of the biogeographical composition of the fouling community revealed a high percentage of warm-water species on ships of the Russia-Japan routes. The incomplete process of acclimatization of the warm-water species B. improvisus, B. amphitrite, and Hydroides elegans in Peter the Great Bay is discussed.
