Biofouling and antifouling in Oman waters

Biofouling is the undesirable growth and accumulation of organisms on submerged man-made installations. Biofouling causes enormous losses for marine industries and desalination plants. Compared to other regions biofouling communities have not been investigated fully in the Sultanate of Oman. Most of the studies were conducted in the Muscat waters, while the species composition and dynamics of biofouling communities in the Arabian Sea have not been studied. It is important to develop an effective defense against biofouling that will work in both the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea. In this investigation, we are going to study the temporal and spatial variation of biofouling communities developed on the protected and unprotected substrates in the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Possible locations will include Muscat and Dhofar. Plastic panels will be coated with existing toxic and non-toxic antifouling paints. Clean panels will be used as control. The experiment will be conducted for 1 year. Every season, replicated panels will be retrieved and biofouling will be analyzed using classical and modern approaches. Panels will be photographed and the percentage of cover will be determined. The biomass of fouling will be measured using a balance. The species identification will be done using sequencing of 16S, 18S, and COI genes. Obtained sequences will be compared with ones from publicly available databases. This study will result in the list of biofouling species in Oman waters. Additionally, an effective antifouling defense for Oman waters will be proposed. This will result in an economy of resources spent for antifouling defense in the Sultanate of Oman. Finally, graduate and postgraduate students will be trained during this project. The results of this project will be disseminated through media and scientific presentations and publications.