Coastal ship traffic: a significant introduction vector for potentially harmful dinoflagellates in eastern Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Roy ◽  
Marie Parenteau ◽  
Oscar Casas-Monroy ◽  
André Rochon
Keyword(s):  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Ship Traffic ◽  
Introduction Pathway ◽  
Maximum Cell ◽  
Cell Concentrations ◽  
Introduction Vector

We examined the risk of introduction associated with potentially toxic or otherwise harmful algae (HA) or nonindigenous species (NIS) of dinoflagellates in ballast water from 63 commercial ships visiting ports of eastern Canada in 2007–2009. Ship categories included transoceanics undergoing ballast water exchange (BWE) and coastal ships with or without BWE. Of 159 species of dinoflagellates observed in Lugol-preserved samples, 15 were potential HA (six Dinophysis spp.) and 46 were NIS (including three HA). We found at least one species of HA in 81% of all ships examined, and maximum cell concentrations reached nearly 4000 cells·L–1. Coastal nonexchanged tankers carried the greatest cell concentrations of HA. NIS dinoflagellates were found in 56% of ships, significantly more in ships with BWE. There was no evidence that ships with BWE contained significantly fewer taxa or lower concentrations of HA dinoflagellates, indicating that BWE is not efficient in controlling the introduction of these organisms. In fact, BWE promoted the transport of NIS dinoflagellates, possibly because of the wide distribution of several of these species. Coastal ship traffic is a significant introduction pathway for HA (ships with and without BWE) and NIS (ships with BWE) dinoflagellates in eastern Canada.

Options for Nonindigenous Species Control and Their Economic Impact on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway: A Survey

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (01) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Anastassios N. Perakis ◽  
Zhiyong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Compliance Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Decision Problems ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Adverse Side Effects ◽  
Ecological Problems

Nonindigenous species (NIS) cause substantial economic and ecological problems in the United States and other countries with marine trade. Current legislation and regulations require mandatory ballast water exchange for those ships entering the Great Lakes. Due to the low compliance rate, and some inherent defects of legislation, the current status of NIS control is not very encouraging. Several technical and legislative options have been proposed to improve the efficiency of NIS control. The most promising methods include filtration with ultraviolet, heat, and ballast water exchange. No one method, however, can 100% effectively solve the NIS problem. Moreover, the mandatory requirements may induce modal shifts from marine to rail or truck mode on the Great Lakes, which may cause several adverse side effects on the economy and the environment. The decision problems for the cargo owners and the legislative body are also formulated.

Invertebrates associated with residual ballast water and sediments of cargo-carrying ships entering the Great Lakes

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 2463-2474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C Duggan ◽  
Colin DA van Overdijk ◽  
Sarah A Bailey ◽  
Philip T Jenkins ◽  
Helene Limén ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Residual Water ◽  
Ocean Water ◽  
Water Fraction

Most ships entering the Great Lakes carry cargo and declare “no-ballast-on board” (NOBOB) status. Approximately 250 of these vessels annually load Great Lakes’ ballast water when they offload inbound cargo and then discharge this water (which has now mixed with residual water previously present in the tanks) when they load outbound cargo. This procedure potentially allows nonindigenous species present in ballast residuals to invade the Great Lakes. We collected residual sediment, water, and associated organisms from 38 NOBOB ships entering the Great Lakes. We recorded seven established Great Lakes’ nonindigenous species, including some discovered since ballast water exchange was implemented. Occurrences of species not yet invaded indicate that this vector provides further opportunity for invasion. Collectively, NOBOB vessels appear to constitute a greater risk than ballasted vessels, as they make up a greater proportion of the traffic entering the lakes (~90%), and they do not undergo ballast exchange. Invertebrates in residual water appear to have a greater opportunity for discharge than those in sediments, although most in the water fraction have already invaded this system. Invertebrate numbers in residual freshwater ballast could be dramatically lowered if these vessels flushed with open-ocean water prior to entering the Great Lakes.

EVALUATING AN INVASIVE SPECIES POLICY: BALLAST WATER EXCHANGE IN THE GREAT LAKES

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Costello ◽  
John M. Drake ◽  
David M. Lodge
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Invasive Species Policy

Numerical Simulation of Sloshing of Water in Ship Tanks During Sequential Ballast Water Exchange in Seaways

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Arai ◽  
Humberto S. Makiyama ◽  
Liang-Yee Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Exchange Method ◽  
Ballast Tank ◽  
Open Sea ◽  
Merchant Ship ◽  
Ballast Tanks

In recent years, ballast water has been blamed for a variety of marine pollution problems, particularly for transporting harmful aquatic organisms from one part of the world to another and damaging the ecosystem of the new areas. A relatively simple mechanism to control this problem is to exchange ballast water on the high seas between ports in order to remove invasive species before the ship reaches its destination. However, some issues regarding ballast exchange on the open sea need to be addressed before this operation is introduced. One of them is the sloshing of the sea water in the ballast tank. In this paper, ballast water exchange on the open sea by means of the Sequential exchange method is simulated. Irregular seaways are generated from the ISSC spectrum, and the sloshing response of the water in the ballast tanks of a large merchant ship is numerically computed by using a finite difference code developed by the authors. The results showed that there is little possibility that severe sloshing presents a serious problem in regard to the ballast tank’s strength, especially in the case of a bulk carrier whose tanks are generally short in length, with sloshing anticipated only at the low water level.

scholarly journals Richness and zoogeography of ascidians (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) in eastern Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin C.K. Ma ◽  
Don Deibel ◽  
Kenneth K.M. Law ◽  
Mai Aoki ◽  
Cynthia H. McKenzie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
Invading Species ◽  
Over Time

Managers and policymakers in eastern Canada embrace science-based management of nonindigenous species and may benefit from having comprehensive regional species checklists at subnational jurisdictional levels. In this paper, regional checklists provide an account of the richness of ascidians in eastern Canada. Records of 58 ascidians resulted from reviewing 108 published sources, accessing data from two online databases, and collecting some common indigenous ascidian specimens. Analysis comparing the similarity of species among nine regions indicates that there is greater similarity in species composition between contiguous regions than between noncontiguous regions and suggests that there are four zoogeographic clusters in eastern Canada. Our checklists can inform managers and policymakers of the diversity of the ascidian taxa and can minimize taxonomic uncertainties of established nonindigenous and prospective invading species, for example, by identifying indigenous species that are congeners of nonindigenous species. The maintenance of checklists can be a valuable tool for the management of nonindigenous species as baselines to estimate changes in richness and to document the invasion status of nonindigenous species over time. For example, more importance can be placed on the spread of nonindigenous ascidians from one zoogeographic cluster to another than spread within the same cluster.

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