Marine Fouling Characteristics of Biocomposites in a Coral Reef Ecosystem

Abstract

Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world. The diversity of life found in the habitats created by corals is so large that the reefs are known as the “rainforests of the sea.” Unfortunately, severe natural and anthropogenic changes such as ocean warming, acidification, coral diseases, and plastic pollution are extremely detrimental to this ecosystem. To enrich the ambient conditions of the corals and boost their growth, the potential of two biocomposites is evaluated based on biodegradable polyurethane and silicone matrices as scaffolds for the growth of oceanic organisms. Furthermore, their degradation is investigated within the coral reefs of Faafu Atoll, Republic of Maldives. The observations indicate that there are a significant number of organisms that settle and grow on these biocomposites in the Maldivian lagoon, both of an animal and photosynthetic nature. The biocomposites have the potential to become suitable scaffolds for diverse hard bottom fouling organisms. Moreover, the presence of coral larvae on the biocomposites suggests that during their biodegradation, these biocomposites can support the growth of organisms, generating a suitable environment for triggering the birth of new corals.

Propaedeutic Study of Biocomposites Obtained With Natural Fibers for Oceanographic Observing Platforms

“…In Ecoflex TM 00-30 (Ecoflex TM 00-50), the maximum tensile strain changes form 11.77 (9.29) mm to 7.69 (6.55) mm when blended with 50% potato starch powder. The reduction of tensile strain for the samples containing potato starch has been observed also by Contardi et al (2021). Their samples, created with the same technique had starch/E43 weight ratio of 60:40, similarly to our E43PS60 and E43PPS60.…”

Biodegradable, Stretchable and Transparent Plastic Films from Modified Waterborne Polyurethane Dispersions

“…Plastic pollution in the environment is an ever increasing problem, including plastics in aqueous environments such as our oceans. In fact, biopolymers and bioplastics will help curb plastic pollution in oceans but biodegradable polymers including modified biodegradable polyurethanes can also be used to restore aquatic life such as reconstruction of coral reefs [ 47 ]. As mentioned earlier, aliphatic polyester polyol-based polyurethanes are susceptible to biodegradation depending on molecular weight, crosslinking and degradation conditions [ 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Self-Adhesive and Antioxidant Poly(vinylpyrrolidone)/Alginate-Based Bilayer Films Loaded with Malva sylvestris Extracts as Potential Skin Dressings

“…The humidity uptake capacity of the samples was evaluated as described in Contardi et al . Dry samples were weighed (∼25 mg) and placed in different chambers with controlled humidity (RH 0, 11, 44, 84, 100%).…”

“…Humidity Uptake. The humidity uptake capacity of the samples was evaluated as described in Contardi et al 48 Dry samples were weighed (∼25 mg) and placed in different chambers with controlled humidity (RH 0, 11, 44, 84, 100%). The samples were kept in different humidity chambers until equilibrium conditions (usually 24 h), each film was then weighed, and the amount of adsorbed water moisture was estimated based on the difference between the weight of each film and its initial dry weight.…”