Evaluation of Ships' Ballast Water as a Vector for Transfer of Pathogenic Bacteria to Marine Protected Areas in the Gulf of Mexico
Evaluation of Ships' Ballast Water as a Vector for Transfer of Pathogenic Bacteria to Marine Protected Areas in the Gulf of Mexico

Author: Theresa L. Morris

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13:

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An average of three to five billion tons of ballast water (BW) is transported globally per year; 79 million tons of which is released into U. S. waters. Ballast water is necessary for large ships to maintain balance and stability while loading and unloading cargo as well as during transit. As a ship unloads it's cargo at a port, it takes on ballast water and then when it loads cargo at the next port, it discharges the ballast water, thus transferring water from port to port. Aquatic organisms are transported around the globe via ballast water. These organisms can potentially cause serious environmental and human health impacts. Historically, transfer of macro-organisms such as fish, snails, and vascular plants via ballast water have been the focus of ballast water research. More recently, microorganisms such as toxin producing dinoflagellates and diatoms i.e. "harmful algal blooms" and pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Vibrio cholerae), have been found to survive in ballast tanks for several weeks. These organisms have moved to the forefront of ballast water management (BWM) trepidations because they compose serious threats to human health as well as Marine Protected Area (MPA) ecosystems such as coral reefs. Ballasting activities of ships calling at the Port of Houston were used as a model for other major ports in U.S. Gulf States. Ballast water management reports, submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard by all overseas vessels calling at the Port of Houston in 2010 were examined for the ballast management strategies utilized prior to docking. Currently, all "coastwise" ships are not required to conduct ballast water exchanges (BWE) if they do not transit beyond the 200nm EEZ. Close inspection of BW management report forms for "overseas" ships determined that the degree of completeness was variable. By comparing the frequency of vessels entering the Port of Houston, ballast water capacities, the management types utilized, and the locations of ballast water exchanges and discharges, it can be concluded that larger vessels present the highest risk of bacterial transfer to coral reefs. Five coral diseases were discovered to be prevalent throughout the ballast management areas their presence has significantly increased in these areas over the past thirty years. The combination of this disease growth along with an increase in shipping and ballast exchanges suggests that the vector at which pathogens are being displaced must lie within the shipping lanes. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/149600

Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management
Global Maritime Transport and Ballast Water Management

Author: Matej David

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-11-06

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 9401793670

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Ballast water management is a complex subject with many issues and still limited knowledge, however, it is building up on new scientific researches and practical experience. The Ballast Water Management Convention is the global legal framework which still needs to be implemented. This book brings together a long-term and newest experience from practical work, scientific research, administration and policy involvements, offering unique insights to readers who would like to learn more about this subject. It also provides recommendations and practical solutions especially important for professionals, administrations and organizations in the process of the implementation of this Ballast Water Management Convention.

Stemming the Tide
Stemming the Tide

Author: Committee on Ships'Ballast Operations

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-11-05

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 0309589320

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The European zebra mussel in the Great Lakes, a toxic Japanese dinoflagellate transferred to Australia--such biologically and economically harmful stowaways have made it imperative to achieve better management of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Stemming the Tide examines the introduction of nonindigenous species through ballast water discharge. Ballast is any solid or liquid that is taken aboard ship to achieve more controlled and safer operation. This expert volume Assesses current national and international approaches to the problem and makes recommendations for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. maritime industry, and the member states of the International Maritime Organization. Appraises technologies for controlling the transfer of organisms--biocides, filtration, heat treatment, and others --with a view toward developing the most promising methods for shipboard demonstration. Evaluates methods for monitoring the effectiveness of ballast water management in removing unwanted organisms. The book addresses the constraints inherent in ballast water management, notably shipboard ballast treatment and monitoring. Also, the committee outlines efforts to set an acceptable level of risk for species introduction using the techniques of risk analysis. Stemming the Tide will be important to all stakeholders in the issue of unwanted species introduction through ballast discharge: policymakers, port authorities, shippers, ship operators, suppliers to the maritime industry, marine biologists, marine engineers, and environmentalists.

Bacteria in Ballast Water
Bacteria in Ballast Water

Author: Elizabeth B. Neyland

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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The transportation of organisms in the ballast water of cargo ships has been recognized as a source of invasive species despite current control measures. Pathogenic bacteria in the ballast tank have been studied but the total diversity of the ballast tank bacterial community has not been examined. This study is the first to characterize the total bacterial community within a ballast tank by constructing a clone library from a ballast water sample from a cargo ship in the Port of Houston, amplified ribosomal rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and phylogenetic analysis. Bacterial communities in Texas ports and bays were also examined using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), looking at both temporal and spatial variations for effects of deballasting activity. This ballast tank bacterial community had a high level of diversity (95%) with the clone library only representing 40% of the total community of the tank. Most probable originating habitats of the ballast bacteria were: marine pelagic (40%), estuarine (37%), coastal (6%), freshwater (3%) and other (14%), even though this ballast tank was exchanged with pelagic water. Predominate groups were alpha- and gammaproteobacteria, a few betaproteobacteria and bacteriodetes, and one each of verrucomicrobia, planctomycetes and actinobacteria, but no pathogens were detected. The data reveals a ballast tank that consists of half marine-pelagic, half port bacteria, revealing a low efficacy of exchange control methods and potentially invasive bacteria. The bacterial communities of five ships that exchanged ballast water in the Pacific Ocean shared on average 50% similarity. Two ships that exchanged ballast water in temperate latitudes were more similar than three other ships that exchanged in tropical latitudes, showing a correlation between location of exchange and community similarity. The bacterial communities of the Ports of Houston and Galveston exhibit stable, seasonal successions over one year. The port and bay systems of Texas exhibited spatial variations in bacterial communities related to salinity levels. Both experiments did not show evidence of community disruption by deballasting activities. This study shows that ballast water is a viable vector for invasive bacterial transport, although impact on Texas estuarine systems seems minimal.

Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water
Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-08-27

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 0309215625

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The human-mediated introduction of species to regions of the world they could never reach by natural means has had great impacts on the environment, the economy, and society. In the ocean, these invasions have long been mediated by the uptake and subsequent release of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Increasing world trade and a concomitantly growing global shipping fleet composed of larger and faster vessels, combined with a series of prominent ballast-mediated invasions over the past two decades, have prompted active national and international interest in ballast water management. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water informs the regulation of ballast water by helping the Environnmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) better understand the relationship between the concentration of living organisms in ballast water discharges and the probability of nonindigenous organisms successfully establishing populations in U.S. waters. The report evaluates the risk-release relationship in the context of differing environmental and ecological conditions,including estuarine and freshwater systems as well as the waters of the three-mile territorial sea. It recommends how various approaches can be used by regulatory agencies to best inform risk management decisions on the allowable concentrations of living organisms in discharged ballast water in order to safeguard against the establishment of new aquatic nonindigenous species, and to protect and preserve existing indigenous populations of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and other beneficial uses of the nation's waters. Assessing the Relationship Between Propagule Pressure and Invasion Risk in Ballast Water provides valuable information that can be used by federal agencies, such as the EPA, policy makers, environmental scientists, and researchers.

Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems
Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems

Author: Gil Rilov

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-11-12

Total Pages: 642

ISBN-13: 354079235X

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Biological invasions are considered to be one of the greatest threats to the integrity of most ecosystems on earth. This volume explores the current state of marine bioinvasions, which have been growing at an exponential rate over recent decades. Focusing on the ecological aspects of biological invasions, it elucidates the different stages of an invasion process, starting with uptake and transport, through inoculation, establishment and finally integration into new ecosystems. Basic ecological concepts - all in the context of bioinvasions - are covered, such as propagule pressure, species interactions, phenotypic plasticity, and the importance of biodiversity. The authors approach bioinvasions as hazards to the integrity of natural communities, but also as a tool for better understanding fundamental ecological processes. Important aspects of managing marine bioinvasions are also discussed, as are many informative case studies from around the world.