Creating the exhibits - A Fascination for Fish: Adventures of an Underwater Pioneer - page 201

rine life or other, but there was no telling if it would be an animal we
wanted to exhibit. We came up with a rather sneaky way of helping
nature along to make sure that each panel would be dominated by the
animal we wanted. Just prior to moving the rock panels out to the steel
rack, marine biologist Linda Martin and I experimented with gluing
a few choice animals, like sponges and sea anemones, onto the FRC
surfaces using a nontoxic marine epoxy that cures underwater. The an-
imals survived, and once they were put out in the sea they grew and
multiplied. Because we had given them a head start in the space wars,
they eventually took over most of the rock surface.
We made periodic dive inspections on the rocks to monitor the
progress of the animal's growth and to evict predatory sea stars. Ulti-
mately, the patchy distribution and dominance of certain animals we
wanted to show our visitors was achieved, thanks to our little partnership
with nature.
FUNKY WHARF PILINGS
One big, early project was to make artificial wharf pilings, which we
would then attach to real pilings underneath the wharf in Monterey
Harbor. These pilings were destined for the small exhibit of wharf-
dwelling fishes I mentioned in chapter 15. Layers of fiberglass cloth im-
pregnated with black-pigmented polyester resin were laid over a
smooth vinyl form to create six-foot-tall cylinders, which were then
reinforced on the inside. We took them out in the boat and dived to
bolt them to the animal-covered pilings of the wharf.
At the time, no opening date had been set for the aquarium, so I
didn't know how long we would have for animals to colonize the bare
fiberglass. As it turned out, the pilings were in the sea for four years.
By then they were so covered with growth that they looked just like
the real pilings of the Monterey wharf.
The Monterey Bay Habitats exhibit, however, was to be fitted with
real pilings, and we were hoping to get them from the Monterey Har-
bor when the old pilings were replaced, which happens periodically.
That way they would be suitably funky looking—just what we
wanted.