ALGAL COLONIZATION OF A TIRE REEF - INFLUENCE OF PLACEMENT DATE

Artificial reefs constructed from scrap tires were used to study algal colonization, measured as percentage primary cover with particular at tention to the relationship between time of placement and rate of colo nization. A replicated experiment was carried out in order to assess t he influence of date of placement on algal colonization. Removable sam pling units were attached to tire reef units each two months for twelv e months. Rates of algal colonization were greatest during the late sp ring and summer. The abundance of individual species varied seasonally . Over the 2-year period of the experiment 56 species of algae were id entified to the level of genus and/or species. It was concluded that s tudies which simply rely upon a single sampling and placement date wou ld be unreliable predictors of algal growth patterns on tire reefs par ticularly in the first 4 months of colonization. It is recommended tha t in the future tire reefs be placed in the Gulf of St. Vincent in Oct ober (spring) or December (summer) to benefit from the more rapid deve lopment of algal cover at this time of the year.