Knauss legislative fellowships in Congress help build careers — and they're fun and educational. See our video and fact sheet for details.
The Maryland Sea Grant bookstore is closed from December 10 to January 3.
Research Publications: UM-SG-RS-2005-03
Title:
Reducing propagule supply and cosateal invasions via ships: effects of emerging strategies.
Year:
2005Authors:
Minton, MS; Verling, E; Miller, AW; Ruiz, GMSource:
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3 ( 6 ) : 304 - 308DOI:
10.1890/1540-9295(2005)003[0304:RPSACI]2.0.CO;2Abstract:
Ships' ballast water is a leading mechanism for the transport and introduction of nonindigenous species to ports worldwide. Two management strategies are being advanced to reduce propagule supply and invasions from overseas shipping. Ballast water exchange (BWE) is now required by several nations and is expected to be replaced by discharge standards (maximum organismal concentrations), negotiated as a treaty within the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Here, we provide the first forecast and comparison of changes to propagule supply at a national scale, resulting from these alternate management strategies. For unmanaged ballast water, sampled ships (n = 354) arriving to the US typically contained zooplankton concentrations < 3000 organisms m(-3), but some ships (1.1%) contained > 50 000 organisms m(-3). Only 3.8% of these arrivals :meet the IMO standards. BWE substantially reduces zooplankton concentrations, but we estimate that <= 17.2% Of BWE ships will meet IMO standards. Although most overseas arrivals discharged < 1500 m(3) of ballast water, discharges are reported as high as 103 +/- 000 m, and total inocula >= 10(6) remain possible, even under the more stringent IMO strategy.
Related Research Project(s) Funded by Maryland Sea Grant:
Maryland Sea Grant Topic(s):
'Related Research Project(s)' link to details about research projects funded by Maryland Sea Grant that led to this publication. These details may include other impacts and accomplishments resulting from the research.
'Maryland Sea Grant Topic(s)' links to related pages on the Maryland Sea Grant website.
Program Announcements
News and Blogs
Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Developing a habitat model for mysids, an important link in Chesapeake Bay food webs
Mysids are important mesozooplankton prey for many species of fish in Chesapeake Bay and are an important link in transferring energy from lower to upper trophic levels. Mysids also serve as biological vectors for benthic-pelagic coupling due to their diel vertical migration and omnivorous prey-switching behavior, which makes mysids important regulators of food web architecture. Despite their central role in coastal food webs, surprisingly little is known about mysid ecology and dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.
