Early colonization of littoral communities on polyurethane coated substrates

Abstract

Materials used for urbanized coastal structures often create a hard substra te ready to be colonized. Elastocoast, a new coastal protection material made from stones and polyurethane, is such a material. This study examined the recovery and growth during the winter of 2007-2008 of the biological community on two dykes in the Netherlands which were refurbished with Elastocoast at the beginning of the storm season, and describes an algal colonization experiment done with Elastocoast in the laboratory. In the field, 4 months after the cons truction of the Elastocoast top layer, dyke vegetation has returned, though strongly zonated and leaving large patches without any vegetation. Main algal species are Enteromorplta mi1tima and Fucus spiralis. Animals found on the Elastocoast layer mainly consisted of Littoriua sp. and Patella Vulgata. The Elastocoast pilots in the field were examined for 25 weeks, it is expected that the biological community will recover further when given enough time. The laboratory experiment showed that by colonization by micro-algae under favorable circumstances can be fast and substantial, by numerous micro algae and animals. Elastocoast therefore seems to be a material which allows community recovery to be fast and according to the typical vegetation of that area.