Biofouling as a Process

In its extended sense, the word colonization means the process of spreading over some new territory. As regards hard surfaces in a water medium, the terms “colonization,” “biofouling,” and sometimes “fouling” may be synonymous (Wahl, 1989). Biofouling as a process means biological fouling, as distinct from other forms of fouling, i.e., the accumulation of deposits of different kinds and origin on the surface, such as the products of corrosion, crystallization, chemical reactions, suspended particles, detritus, ice, etc. (Characklis et al., 1984; Bott, 1988). Thus, biological fouling is a special case of colonization of hard surfaces by living organisms in the water medium.