Domestic and international arrivals of NOBOB (no ballast on board) vessels to lower Chesapeake Bay

In examining ship-mediated biological invasions, most research and treatment development has focused on ballast water. Another vector that has gained attention recently is vessels arriving in a "no ballast on board" (NOBOB) condition. Such ships retain relatively small, unpumpable volumes of water and sediment in their ballast tanks. Nonetheless, these unpumpable portions can represent great ecological risk. This scenario is relevant in the Great Lakes, which have experienced a dramatic series of introductions, despite most vessels arriving there as NOBOBs since 1994. We examined shipping patterns of NOBOBs arriving to lower Chesapeake Bay to begin evaluating their risk of biopollution. Only 14% of ships arrive as NOBOBs, and of those, 17% depart to another port in the upper bay. Most NOBOBs arrive from or leave for other US ports; proximate trans-Atlantic crossings are few. Given the nature of their operations, we conclude NOBOBs may represent a risk for aquatic nuisance species invasions to Chesapeake Bay.     

Setting a size-exclusion limit to remove toxic dinoflagellate cysts from ships' ballast water

Dinoflagellate cysts are well-recognized biological constituents of ships' ballast tanks. They are present in ballast water, sediments and residual water in drained tanks, and in biofilms formed on interior tank surfaces. Therefore, cysts have the potential to be released during ballast discharge. The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Ballast Water Management Convention (promulgated February 2004) stipulates a performance standard (Annex, Regulation D2) requiring discharged ballast water contain <10 viable organisms between 10 and 50 microm per ml and <10 viable organisms 50 microm per m3. The proposed size limit has potential to exclude both the smallest toxic and the largest toxic and non-toxic dinoflagellate (and other microalgal) cysts from discharged ballast water. Despite the appropriateness of size cutoffs however, ballast water containing predominantly small cysts (<50 microm) could be deemed in compliance with the performance standard, even without treatment, while ballast water having the same concentration of larger cysts (>50 microm) could require a multiple-log reduction in abundance before its permissible discharge. Also of concern, it remains uncertain whether ballast-water treatment can remove sufficient organisms, including dinoflagellate cysts, to meet the performance standard.     

Ecosystem under pressure: ballast water discharge into Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) from 2005 to 2010

Ballast water exchange processes facilitate the dispersal and unnatural geographic expansion of phytoplankton, including harmful algal bloom species. From 2005 to 2010, over 45,000 vessels (≈ 8000 annually) travelled across Galveston Bay (Texas, USA) to the deep-water ports of Houston (10th largest in the world), Texas City and Galveston. These vessels (primarily tankers and bulkers) discharged ≈ 1.2 × 10(8) metrictons of ballast water; equivalent to ≈ 3.4% of the total volume of the Bay. Over half of the ballast water discharged had a coastwise origin, 96% being from US waters. Galveston Bay has fewer non-indigenous species but receives a higher volume of ballast water discharge, relative to the highly invaded Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays. Given the magnitude of shipping traffic, the role of Galveston Bay, both as a recipient and donor region of non-indigenous phytoplankton species is discussed here in terms of the invasibility risk to this system by way of ballast water.     

Changes of microbial populations in a ship's ballast water and sediments on a voyage from Japan to Qatar

Colony-forming eutrophic marine microorganisms in ballast water were counted in samples taken on board in 2002 and 2003. In the ballast water in Japan, viable cell numbers were highly variable but not by more than 10(5.1) colony-forming units (CFU)ml(-1) regardless of season. Even when ballast water was discharged offshore, values varied but not by more than 10(5.0) CFUml(-1). The effectiveness of the ballast water exchange was unconfirmed, except for the February 2003 voyage. No microbial colonies were counted in the reloaded ballast water in the high seas on that voyage, which contributed to the reduction of the total number of viable cells sampled in the discharged ballast water at the Ras Laffan port in Qatar. In sediment samples, the values of 10(5.2) - 10(6.0) CFUml(-1) were estimated for all seasons in which voyages took place. The maximum of the marine Vibrio species, 110 CFUml(-1), was observed in the ballast water sample taken in July 2003. The estimated total viable cell numbers in sediments were higher than those counted in the ballast water throughout the experiments, indicating the importance of sediment management as well as ballast water management on vessels traveling from Japan.     

Intra-coastal ballast water flux and the potential for secondary spread of non-native species on the US West Coast

Ballast water is a dominant mechanism for the interoceanic and transoceanic dispersal of aquatic non-native species (ANS), but few studies have addressed ANS transfers via smaller scale vessel movements. We analyzed ballast water reporting records and ANS occurrence data from four US West Coast port systems to examine patterns of intra-coastal ballast water transfer, and assess how ballast transfers may have influenced the secondary spread of ANS. In 2005, one third of the vessels arriving to the US West Coast originated at one of four West Coast port systems (intra-coastal traffic). These vessels transported and discharged 27% (5,987,588 MT) of the total ballast water volume discharged at these ports that year. The overlap of ANS (shared species) among port systems varied between 3% and 80%, with the largest overlap occurring between San Francisco Bay and LA/Long Beach. Our results suggest that intra-coastal ballast water needs further consideration as an invasion pathway, especially as efforts to promote short-sea shipping are being developed.     

Multiplex PCR allows simultaneous detection of pathogens in ships' ballast water

There is enormous potential for global transfer of microorganisms, including pathogens, in ships' ballast water. We contend that a major advancement in the study of ballast-water microorganisms in particular, and of aquatic pathogens in general, will be expedited sample analysis, such as provided by the elegant technology of DNA microarrays. In order to use DNA microarrays, however, one must establish the appropriate conditions to bind target sequences in samples to multiple probes on the microarrays. We conducted proof-of-concept experiments to optimize simultaneous detection of multiple microorganisms using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern hybridization. We chose three target organisms, all potentially found in ballast water: a calicivirus, the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, and the photosynthetic protist Aureococcus anophagefferens. Here, we show simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens is possible, a result supporting the promising future use of microarrays for simultaneous detection of pathogens in ballast water.     

Survey on germination and species composition of dinoflagellates from ballast tanks and recent sediments in ports on the South Coast of Finland, North-Eastern Baltic Sea

Cyst beds in ships and ports in Finland have previously been unstudied. Therefore, sediments from ships' ballast water tanks and four Finnish ports were sampled for dinoflagellate cysts and other phytoplankton. Untreated sediments were incubated at 10 degrees C and 20 degrees C in the local 6 psu salinity for 1, 4 and 7 days, and vegetative cells were examined with light and scanning electron microscope. Sediments were inhabited by various dinoflagellates, diatoms, chlorophytes, cyanophytes and small flagellates. Germinated dinoflagellates were found in 90% of ballast tanks and in all ports. Gymnodiniales spp. and Heterocapsa rotundata formed a major proportion of the proliferating dinoflagellate cells. One species, Peridinium quinquecorne, not previously reported from the Baltic Sea, was identified with SEM. The study emphasises that ships are potential transport vehicles for dinoflagellate cysts even in the low salinity Finnish waters, and small-sized dinoflagellates should be focused upon in ballast water studies.     

Verification of mid-ocean ballast water exchange using naturally occurring coastal tracers

We examined methods for verifying whether or not ships have performed mid-ocean ballast water exchange (BWE) on four commercial vessels operating in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. During BWE, a ship replaces the coastal water in its ballast tanks with water drawn from the open ocean, which is considered to harbor fewer organisms capable of establishing in coastal environments. We measured concentrations of several naturally occurring chemical tracers (salinity, six trace elements, colored dissolved organic matter fluorescence and radium isotopes) along ocean transects and in ballast tanks subjected to varying degrees of BWE (0-99%). Many coastal tracers showed significant concentration changes due to BWE, and our ability to detect differences between exchanged and unexchanged ballast tanks was greatest under multivariate analysis. An expanded dataset, which includes additional geographic regions, is now needed to test the generality of our results.     

Empirical observations and numerical modelling of tides,channel morphology,and vegetative effects on accretion in a restored tidal marsh

Tidal marshes form at the confluence between estuarine and marine environments where tidal movement regulates their developmental processes. Here, we investigate how the interplay between tides, channel morphology, and vegetation affect sediment dynamics in a low energy tidal marsh at the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island. Poplar Island is an active restoration site where fine-grained material dredged from navigation channels in the upper Chesapeake Bay are being used to restore remote tidal marsh habitat toward the middle bay (Maryland, USA). Tidal currents were measured over multiple tidal cycles in the inlets and tidal creeks of one marsh at Poplar Island, Cell 1B, using Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) to estimate water fluxes throughout the marsh complex. Sediment fluxes were estimated using acoustic backscatter recorded by ADCPs and validated against total suspended solid measurements taken on site. A high-resolution geomorphic survey was conducted to capture channel cross sections and tidal marsh morphology. We integrated simple numerical models built in Delft3d with empirical observations to identify which eco-geomorphological factors influence sediment distribution in various channel configurations with differing vegetative characteristics. Channel morphology influences flood-ebb dominance in marshes, where deep, narrow channels promote high tidal velocities and incision, increasing sediment suspension and reducing resilience in marshes at Poplar Island. Our numerical models suggest that accurately modelling plant phenology is vital for estimating sediment accretion rates. In-situ observations indicate that Poplar Island marshes are experiencing erosion typical for many Chesapeake Bay islands. Peak periods of sediment suspension frequently coincide with the largest outflows of water during ebb tides resulting in large sediment deficits. Ebb dominance (net sediment export) in tidal marshes is likely amplified by sea-level rise and may lower marsh resilience. We couple field observations with numerical models to understand how tidal marsh morphodynamics contribute to marsh resilience. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ballast water: A threat to the Amazon Basin

Ballast water exchange (BWE) is the most efficient measure to control the invasion of exotic species from ships. This procedure is being used for merchant ships in national and international voyages. The ballast water (BW) salinity is the main parameter to evaluate the efficacy of the mid-ocean ballast water exchange. The vessels must report to the Port State Control (PSC), via ballast water report (BWR), where and how the mid-ocean BWE was performed. This measure allows the PSC to analyze this information before the ship arrives at the port, and to decide whether or not it should berth.Ship BW reporting forms were collected from the Captaincy of Santana and some ships were visited near the Port of Santana, located in Macapá (Amazon River), to evaluate the BW quality onboard. We evaluated data submitted in these BWR forms and concluded that the BWE efficacy might be compromised, because data contained in these BWR indicate that some ships did not change their BW. We found mistakes in filling the BWR forms and lack of information. Moreover, these ships had discharged BW with high level of salinity, Escherichia coli and total coliforms into the Amazon River. We concluded that the authorities of the Amazon Region need to develop more efficient proceedings to evaluate the ballast water reporting forms and BW quality, as there is potential risk of future invasion of exotic species in Brazilian ports.     

Management and environmental risk study of the physicochemical parameters of ballast water

Shipping is a vital industry for the global economy. Stability of ships, provided by ballast water, is a crucial factor for cargo loading and unloading processes. Ballast water treatment has practical significance in terms of environmental issues, ecosystem, and human health, because ships discharge this water into the environment before loading their cargos. This study reviews the common methods for ballast water management – exchange, heating, filtration, ultrasonic treatment, ultraviolet irradiation, chemicals, and gas supersaturation – to select the best one. This study compares water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals (Co, Cr, Ni, Pb) for ballast tanks of selected ships with the recipient port environment in the Persian Gulf as a case study. The exchange of ballast water in the ocean and/or its treatment on board to prevent inadvertent effects on the environment's physicochemical conditions is related to vessel characteristics, legislation, and the environmental condition. Ecological risk study showed that the salt content in ballast water is close to that of seawater, but the values of Cr (2.1 mg/l) and Ni (0.029 mg/l) in ballast water are higher than those in seawater (1 and 0.004 mg/l, respectively).     

Long-term trends in the macrobenthos and water quality of the lower Chesapeake Bay (1985–1991)

Long-term trends in macrobenthic communities of the lower Chesapeake Bay, USA, were examined using data collected quarterly (March, June, September and December) from 1985 to 1991 at 16 stations along a salinity gradient from tidal freshwater regions of the major tributaries (James, York and Rappahannock rivers) to the polyhaline region of the main-stem of Chesapeake Bay. A non-parametric trend analysis procedure was applied to five parameters characterizing macrobenthic community structure: community biomass, species richness, abundance of individuals, proportion of biomass composed of opportunistic species (opportunistic biomass composition) and proportion of biomass composed of equilibrium species (equilibrium biomass composition). For the parameters tested 36 trends were detected. For community biomass, five trends were significant; all had positive slopes and occurred in the James and York rivers. For species richness, six trends were significant; all had positive slopes with three trends in the James River, two trends in the York River and one trend in the main-stem of Chesapeake Bay. For abundance of individuals, 17 trends were detected; all abundance trends were seasonally dependent, had positive slopes and occurred at 12 of the 16 stations. For opportunistic biomass composition, four trends were significant; all had positive slopes with one trend in the lower Rappahannock River and three trends in the main-stem of Chesapeake Bay. For equilibrium biomass composition four trends were significant; two trends had positive slopes (one in the James River and one in the York River) and two trends had negative slopes (one in the Rappahannock River and one in the main-stem of Chesapeake Bay). Trends in the James and York rivers were considered to indicate improving conditions for the benthos, while trends in the lower Rappahannock River and the main-stem of the Chesapeake Bay were considered to indicate deteriorating conditions. Deteriorating conditions for the benthos were associated with regions exposed to summer, low dissolved oxygen events. The trends in the indicators of benthic biological community health were inferentially related to trends observed in water quality conditions in the tributaries and main-stem of Chesapeake Bay. All major water quality and biotic trends appeared to correspond in an ecologically meaningful manner.     

Low salinity residual ballast discharge and exotic species introductions to the North American Great Lakes

Exotic species introductions to the North American Great Lakes have continued even though ballast water management strategies were implemented in the early 1990s. Overseas vessels that arrive with little or no exchangeable ballast on board have been suspected to be an important source for discharging low salinity ballast containing low salinity tolerant organisms in this region. Residual ballast averaged 18.1+/-13.4 per thousand salinity among 62 samples taken primarily from bottom tanks on 26 vessels that entered the Great Lakes in 1999 and 2000. Sampling of 2-4 tanks each on nine vessels indicated all carried at least one tank of residual ballast of 相似文献   

Effect of mid-oceanic ballast water exchange on virus-like particle abundance during two trans-Pacific voyages

Ballast water is a potential source of invasive species, including viruses that target a variety of hosts. We sampled ballast during two trans-Pacific voyages and analyzed the efficacy of mid-oceanic exchange in reducing virus-like particle (VLP) abundance. Exchange did not significantly reduce virus abundance during the first voyage (P = 0.874), whereas it reduced viral abundance 3.9-fold from 1.8 × 10⁷ to 0.47 × 10⁷ VLP mL⁻¹ during the second voyage (P < 0.0001). Despite the impact of exchange during the second voyage, virus abundances were not significantly different between exchanged and unexchanged tanks upon arrival in Canada (P = 0.363) and Canadian port water samples (P = 0.502). Regressions between environmental parameters and VLP abundance uncovered negative correlations between salinity and viral abundance during one, and dissolved oxygen and viral abundance during the second voyage. In summary, ballast tanks are highly variable with respect to total virus abundance, and the efficacy of exchange requires investigation into the dynamics of specific viruses.     

Macroalgal survival in ballast water tanks

Despite a large amount of research into invasive species and their introductions, there have been no studies focused on macroalgal transport in ballast water. To address this, we collected replicate samples of ballast water from 12 ships in two Mediterranean harbours (Naples and Salerno). Filtered samples were kept in culture for a month at Mediterranean mean conditions (18 degrees C, 12:12h LD, 60micromol photons m(-2)s(-1)). Fifteen macroalgal taxa were cultured and differed according to the geographic origin of the ballast water. Most of the cultured algae were widely distributed species (e.g. Ulva spp. and Acinetospora-phase). However, Ulva ohnoi Hiraoka and Shimada, described from Japan, was hitherto unknown in the Mediterranean Sea. We show for the first time that ballast water can be an important vector for the transport of microscopic stages of macroalgae and that this can be a vector for the introduction of alien species.     

The use of polychaete feeding guilds as biological variables

Polychaete feeding guilds have recently been examined as potentially useful parameters in environmental impact assessment. Densities of polychaete species from three studies in the lower Chesapeake Bay were classified into feeding guilds and correlated with water depth, median phi size and percent silt-clay of the sediment. Polychaete densities were also grouped randomly and correlated with environmental variables. For two of the three studies a feeding guild classification did not give significantly more correlations than expected from random groupings. Problems associated with using polychaete feeding guilds as composite biological variables are discussed.     

Ecological condition of US Mid-Atlantic estuaries, 1997-1998

The Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA-Estuaries) evaluated ecological conditions in US Mid-Atlantic estuaries during the summers of 1997 and 1998. Over 800 probability-based stations were monitored in four main estuarine systems--Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware Estuary, Maryland and Virginian coastal bays, and the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System. Twelve smaller estuaries within the four main systems were also assessed to establish variance at the local scale. A subset of the MAIA-Estuaries data is used here to estimate the extent of eutrophication, sediment contamination, and benthic degradation in mid-Atlantic estuaries. An Environmental Report Card and Index of Environmental Integrity summarize conditions in individual estuaries, the four estuarine systems, and the entire MAIA region. Roughly 20-50% of the region showed signs of eutrophication (high nutrients, excessive production of organic matter, poor water clarity, or depleted dissolved oxygen), 30% had contaminated sediments, and 37% had degraded benthic communities. Compared with the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP)-Virginian Province study in 1990-1993, larger fractions of Chesapeake Bay (17%) and Delaware River (32%) had increased metals or organics in sediments.     

Challenges in global ballast water management

Ballast water management is a complex issue raising the challenge of merging international regulations, ship's specific configurations along with ecological conservation. This complexity is illustrated in this paper by considering ballast water volume, discharge frequency, ship safety and operational issues aligned with regional characteristics to address ecological risk for selected routes. A re-estimation of ballast water volumes gives a global annual level of 3500 Mton. Global ballast water volume discharged into open sea originating from ballast water exchange operations is estimated to approximately 2800 Mton. Risk based decision support systems coupled to databases for different ports and invasive species characteristics and distributions can allow for differentiated treatment levels while maintaining low risk levels. On certain routes, the risk is estimated to be unacceptable and some kind of ballast water treatment or management should be applied.     

Preliminary results of experiments to determine the effects of suspended sediments on the estuarine copepod Eurytemora affinis

Suspended sediment did not significantly affect Eurytemora affinis, which is the numerically dominant, late winter, early spring mesozooplankton taxon in Chesapeake Bay. In preliminary analyses of survival, broods per female and nauplii development for suspended sediment concentrations from 0 to 350 mg l⁻¹, few significant differences were observed between populations exposed to no suspended sediment, and those in 50, 100 and 350 mg l⁻¹. However, in every case, highest suspended sediment levels reduced physiological or reproductive parameters in the copepod. These results suggest that current levels of suspended sediment in the Chesapeake Bay should not reduce population success of the copepod. However, copepod production could decline at slightly higher suspended sediment concentrations resulting from urban population growth and development in the watershed, as well as at levels which are typical of several European estuaries.     

Flow cytometry and conventional enumeration of microorganisms in ships' ballast water and marine samples

Conventional methods for bacteriological testing of water quality take long periods of time to complete. This makes them inappropriate for a shipping industry that is attempting to comply with the International Maritime Organization's anticipated regulations for ballast water discharge. Flow cytometry for the analysis of marine and ship's ballast water is a comparatively fast and accurate method. Compared to a 5% standard error for flow cytometry analysis the standard methods of culturing and epifluorescence analysis have errors of 2-58% and 10-30%, respectively. Also, unlike culturing methods, flow cytometry is capable of detecting both non-viable and viable but non-culturable microorganisms which can still pose health risks. The great variability in both cell concentrations and microbial content for the samples tested is an indication of the difficulties facing microbial monitoring programmes. The concentration of microorganisms in the ballast tank was generally lower than in local seawater. The proportion of aerobic, microaerophilic, and facultative anaerobic microorganisms present appeared to be influenced by conditions in the ballast tank. The gradual creation of anaerobic conditions in a ballast tank could lead to the accumulation of facultative anaerobic microorganisms, which might represent a potential source of pathogenic species.