Molluscs wood-boring

Wood-boring molluscs and crustaceans are the most destructive agents of timber submerged in seawater. Indeed the marine environment is recognised as the most hazardous situation for exposed timber. The rate at which these organisms attack is dependent primarily on water temperature and the natural durability of the wood species, notably the heartwood which has greater natural resistance than sapwood. 

The bulk of analytical work performed in the wood sector is associated with wood preservatives. Most temperate timbers are perishable and therefore require treatment with toxic combinations of elements to achieve protection from biodeterioration owing to attack by fungi, insects, termites and, in marine situations, wood boring crustaceans and molluscs. 

In circumstances in which wood is exposed in a marine environment, attack by marine organisms, such as fungi, bacteria and marine boring animals, can occur. Of these, the marine boring organisms (molluscs and crustaceans) are responsible for most of the damage. There is relatively little literature on this subject in connection with modified wood. 

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