Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Marine Invasions Research Lab, North American Sessile Marine Invertebrate Survey

As part of a national and global effort to understand and document patterns of
invasion in marine coastal waters, we are collecting invertebrates from
embayments across North America. Invertebrate collecting devices called
settling plates are deployed at marinas, commercial and military docks in
several embayments each year. Settling plates are constructed of both wood and
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) so that both wood-boring species and hard surface
foulers can be collected.