Rate of species introductions in the Great Lakes via ships' ballast water and sediments

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 530-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M Drake ◽  
David M Lodge
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Brachionus Plicatilis ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Species Introduction ◽  
Seasonal Timing ◽  
Species Introductions ◽  
Ballast Tanks ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

We report results from a study of species in ballast tanks of ships entering the Great Lakes between 2000 and 2002. We collected 1349 individuals from at least 93 unique taxonomic groups, of which approximately half were identified to species. We estimated that the zooplankton assemblage in ballast water destined for the Great Lakes comprised from 200 to 1000 unique taxa consisting of both freshwater and marine species. Between 14 and 39 of these taxa have not yet been recorded from the Great Lakes. Further, 13.9% of individual specimens identified to the species level were from species not previously collected from the Great Lakes. We collected seven nonindigenous freshwater species not currently found in the Great Lakes: Brachionus plicatilis, Cyclocypria kinkaidia, Maraenobiotus insignipes, Microcyclops rubellus, Microcyclops varicans, Neomysis awatchensis, and Paracyclops chiltoni. We found no evidence that ship age, seasonal timing, or age of ballast water affected the abundance of individuals or species in the ballast tanks. To our knowledge, these are the first extrapolations of data from ballast water collections to estimate the rate of species introduction to any ecosystem.

Diapausing zooplankton eggs remain viable despite exposure to open-ocean ballast water exchange: evidence from in situ exposure experiments

2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek K. Gray ◽  
Hugh J. MacIsaac
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Cold Storage ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Water Exchange ◽  
Egg Viability ◽  
Ocean Water ◽  
Diapausing Eggs ◽  
Species Introductions ◽  
Ballast Tanks

To reduce the transfer of nonindigenous species, regulations require transoceanic ships to exchange ballast with ocean water before discharging into the Great Lakes. Although ballast water exchange (BWE) is effective for live freshwater animals, laboratory experiments provide mixed results with regards to its impact on diapausing zooplankton eggs. We conducted an in situ test of the effectiveness of BWE for treating diapausing eggs in ballast sediments. Incubation chambers containing ballast sediment were placed in ballast tanks of cargo vessels transiting from North America to Europe. Each vessel had paired ballast tanks, one of which remained filled with Great Lakes water (control), while the second was exchanged with mid-ocean water. Laboratory viability tests were then conducted to compare viability of eggs recovered from sediments placed in both treatments, as well as identical sediments that remained at the laboratory in cold storage. No significant differences in egg viability were detected between treatments, but more species hatched from sediment that remained in cold storage. Results indicate that physical conditions in ballast tanks may affect egg viability, but saltwater exposure does not eliminate the risk of species introductions via diapausing eggs. Strategies that minimize sediment accumulation in ballast tanks can reduce the risk of species introductions via diapausing eggs.

scholarly journals Ballast water management and their system processing

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-60
Author(s):  
M. Diasamidze ◽  
A. Shotadze
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Management Options ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Ballast Tanks ◽  
Control And Management ◽  
Ballast Water Management

Ballast water provides stability and maneuverability to a ship. Large ships can carry millions of gallons of ballast water. Ballast water discharged by ships can have a negative impact on the marine environment. There are thousands of marine species that may be carried in ships’ ballast water; In order to reduce the risk of new introductions of exotic species, the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments in 2004. This Convention aims ‘to continue the development of safer and more effective Ballast Water Management options that will result in continued prevention, minimization and ultimate elimination of the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens’. To prevent possible invasions, organisms should not be discharged from ballast tanks. This can be achieved by treating the ballast water, for instance by killing organisms that are travelling in the ballast water.

Ballast-mediated animal introductions in the Laurentian Great Lakes: retrospective and prospective analyses

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 740-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor A Grigorovich ◽  
Robert I Colautti ◽  
Edward L Mills ◽  
Kristen Holeck ◽  
Albert G Ballert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Traffic Patterns ◽  
Physicochemical Factors ◽  
Ballast Tanks ◽  
Shipping Traffic ◽  
High Representation ◽  
Prospective Analyses

Since completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, at least 43 nonindigenous species (NIS) of animals and protists have established in the Laurentian Great Lakes, of which ~67% were attributed to discharge of ballast water from commercial ships. Twenty-three NIS were first discovered in four "hotspot" areas with a high representation of NIS, most notably the Lake Huron – Lake Erie corridor. Despite implementation of the voluntary (1989, Canada) and mandatory (1993, U.S.A.) ballast water exchange (BWE) regulations, NIS were discovered at a higher rate during the 1990s than in the preceding three decades. Here we integrate knowledge of species' invasion histories, shipping traffic patterns, and physicochemical factors that constrain species' survivorship during ballast-mediated transfer to assess the risk of future introductions to the Great Lakes. Our risk-assessment model identified 26 high-risk species that are likely to survive intercontinental transfer in ballast tanks. Of these, 10 species have already invaded the Great Lakes. An additional 37 lower-risk species, of which six have already invaded, show some but not all attributes needed for successful introduction under current BWE management. Our model indicates that the Great Lakes remain vulnerable to ship-mediated NIS invasions.

The Defense of the Great Lakes Against the Invasion of Nonindigenous Species in Ballast Water

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (02) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
Katherine Weathers ◽  
Eric Reeves
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Nonindigenous Species ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Engineering Changes

The Great Lakes is the first place where the United States has established a defense against the introduction of nonindigenous species carried in ballast water. U.S. regulations controlling the discharge of ballast from all vessels entering from outside the Exclusive Economic Zone into the Great Lakes went into effect in early 1993 and are enforced by the United States Coast Guard, with active assistance from the Canadians and the Seaway authorities. The Great Lakes are a unique, valuable, and sensitive resource which have already suffered significant damage from nonindigenous species and are under continuing threat from new invasions. The Great Lakes also have some unique defensive advantages because vessel traffic can be controlled at the Saint Lawrence Seaway and open ocean exchange with salt water can be used as a verifiable, reasonably cheap, and safe method for impeding the invasion of new freshwater species. However, more effective defenses are needed in order to prevent new invasions over the long term. Development of these new defenses will probably require engineering changes in ballast systems in all vessels engaged in transoceanic trade, whether going to fresh or saltwater ports.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of freshwater species under single and multigenerational exposure to seawater intrusion

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1764) ◽  
pp. 20180252 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Venâncio ◽  
B. B. Castro ◽  
R. Ribeiro ◽  
S. C. Antunes ◽  
N. Abrantes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Brachionus Plicatilis ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Cylindrospermopsis Raciborskii ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Trophic Relations ◽  
Freshwater Organisms ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Salinization of coastal freshwater ecosystems is already occurring in some regions of the world. This phenomenon raises serious concerns on the protection of coastal freshwater ecosystems, since many of them support and shelter a large number of species and are considered hotspots of biodiversity. This work intended to assess the adverse effects that salinization, caused by the intrusion of seawater (SW), may pose to freshwater organisms. In this study, three specific goals were addressed: (i) to assess if sodium chloride (NaCl) may be used as a surrogate of natural SW at early-stages of risk assessment; (ii) to identify the most sensitive freshwater species to salinity NaCl; and (iii) to determine if increased tolerance to salinity may be acquired after multigenerational exposure to low levels of salinization (induced with NaCl). A total of 12 standard monospecific bioassays were carried out by exposing organisms from different taxonomic groups (Cyanobacteria: one species, Tracheophyta: two species, Rotifera: one species, Arthropoda: two species and Mollusca: one species) to a series of concentrations of NaCl (ranging from 0.95 to 22.8 mS cm –1 ) or dilutions of SW (ranging from 1.70 to 52.3 mS cm −1 ). In general, NaCl exerted similar or higher toxicity than SW, both at lethal and sublethal levels, suggesting that it may be proposed as a protective surrogate of SW for first tiers of salinization risk assessment. Among all tested species, the cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii , the daphnid Daphnia longispina and the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis were the most sensitive taxa to salinization (EC 50 ≤ 4.38 mS cm −1 ). Given their position at the basis of the food web, it is suggested that small increments of salinity may be enough to induce structural changes in freshwater communities or induce changes in trophic relations. No clear evidences of increased tolerance after multigenerational exposure to low levels of salinity were found. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects’.

Ballast Wafer Exchange as a Means of Controlling Dispersal of Freshwater Organisms by Ships

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 2086-2093 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Locke ◽  
D. M. Reid ◽  
H. C. van Leeuwen ◽  
W.G. Sprules ◽  
J. T. Carlton
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Zooplankton Species ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Species Invasion ◽  
Freshwater Organisms ◽  
Ballast Tanks ◽  
St Lawrence River

During May–December 1990 and March–May 1991, 546 foreign ocean-going vessels entered the Laurentian Great Lakes and upper St. Lawrence River, areas protected by the Great Lakes Ballast Water Control Guidelines. Between 88 and 94% of the vessels exchanged their ballast water with seawater as required by the guidelines. Living representatives of 11 invertebrate phyla were sampled from ballast tanks. Between 14 and 33% of ships that exchanged freshwater ballast in midocean carried living freshwater-tolerant zooplankton at the time of entry to the Seaway, although these included many taxa already found in the Great Lakes. Four freshwater-tolerant zooplankton species that were identified as living specimens in ballast water have apparently not been recorded from the Great Lakes. Voluntary ballast water controls reduced but did not eliminate the risk of species invasion, since some ships did not comply with the guidelines, and even ships that did exchange ballast water could introduce viable freshwater-tolerant organisms into the Great Lakes. About half of the ballast water carried into the Seaway by ocean-going vessels and lakers each year originates from the St. Lawrence River, portions of which are not yet protected by any ballast controls.

scholarly journals Genomic and Microscopic Analysis of Ballast Water in the Great Lakes Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2441 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Wright ◽  
Carys L. Mitchelmore ◽  
Allen Place ◽  
Ernest Williams ◽  
Celia Orano-Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Microscopic Analysis ◽  
Significant Advance ◽  
Individual Organism ◽  
Irreversible Effects ◽  
Taxonomic Assignments ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Invasive aquatic species can have damaging effects on fisheries and aquaculture through significant, and irreversible, effects on biodiversity. Human health may also be affected. To combat this threat the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention for Ballast Water and Sediments (BWMC) came into force in September 2017. U.S. Federal and IMO ballast water standards for discharged organisms stipulate discharge limits for different size classes of organisms. Several studies including recent trials aboard Great Lakes freighters have shown that many phytoplankton found in ballast water do not fall into the regulated 10–50 µM size class. Such issues illustrate the need for new methods of assessing microorganism populations that will supersede laborious microscopy requiring rare technical expertise. Recent progress has been made in the use of DNA (deoxyribose nucleic acid)-based methods as a means of identifying the appearance of invasive species in aquatic environments. A significant advance has been the development of high throughput sequencing (HTS), which has expanded DNA barcoding, relating to an individual organism, into second generation sequencing (metabarcoding), capable of mapping whole populations of organisms in an environmental sample. Several recent studies of HTS in ships’ ballast water, have shown that the technique has the capacity for detecting potentially harmful taxonomic groups and is capable of differentiating among water from different sources. The current study was undertaken to investigate the suitability (or otherwise) of HTS as a tool for ballast water management. Possible applications include improved risk assessment relating to invasive species. Feasibility for indicative testing for ballast water treatment efficacy was also addressed. However, pending analysis of treated samples, the current study was confined to a comparison of HTS and microscope counts in untreated samples. A correlation of visual and molecular taxonomic assignments of microorganisms found in the ballast water from different ports and during different seasons indicated that such a comparison was best conducted at Family level, although Principal Components Analysis showed that the two methods differed qualitatively among major taxonomic groups.

Comment on “Rate of species introductions in the Great Lakes via ships’ ballast water and sediments”

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet W Reid ◽  
Patrick L Hudson
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Laurentian Great Lakes ◽  
Great Lakes Region ◽  
Species Introductions ◽  
Neoergasilus Japonicus ◽  
Brackish Water Species ◽  
Current List ◽  
Water Species

The four species of freshwater copepod crustaceans found in ballast water or sediments in ships and characterized as “nonindigenous” to the Laurentian Great Lakes region by Drake and Lodge (Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 64: 530–538 (2007)) are all widespread, North American natives. Drake and Lodge’s use of these native species to estimate the size of the “source pool” of the richness of potential invasive species resulted in an overestimation of its size. We list the fresh- and brackish-water species of copepods found in or on ships in the Great Lakes and discuss taxonomic and other questions pertaining to some of them. We suggest that Skistodiaptomus pallidus, Cyclops strenuus, Salmincola lotae, Nitokra incerta, and Onychocamptus mohammed be removed from the current list of nonindigenous copepod and branchiuran species established in the Great Lakes system, leaving seven species: Eurytemora affinis, Megacyclops viridis, Neoergasilus japonicus, Heteropsyllus nunni, Nitokra hibernica, Schizopera borutzkyi, and Argulus japonicus.

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