Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 850 route de la Mer, Mont-Joli, QC G5H 3Z4, Canada.
Institut des Sciences de la Mer, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2024 Oct;207:116716. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116716. Epub 2024 Sep 1.
Ship ballast residual sediments are an important vector of introduction for non-indigenous species. We evaluated the proportion of residual sediments and associated organisms released during de-ballasting operations of a commercial bulk carrier and estimated a total residual sediment accumulation of ∼13 t, with accumulations of up to 20 cm in some tank areas that had accumulated over 11 years. We observed interior hull-fouling (anemones, hydrozoans, and bryozoans) and high abundances of viable invertebrate resting stages and dinoflagellate cysts in sediments. Although we determined that <1 % of residual sediments and associated resting stages were resuspended and released into the environment during individual de-ballasting events, this represents a substantial inoculum of 21 × 10 viable dinoflagellate cysts and 7.5 × 10 invertebrate resting stages with many taxa being nonindigenous, cryptogenic, or toxic/harmful species. The methods used and results will help estimate propagule pressure associated with this pathway and will be relevant for residual sediments and nonindigenous species management.
船舶压载沉积物是外来物种引入的一个重要载体。我们评估了一艘商业散货船压载作业过程中释放的残余沉积物及其相关生物的比例，并估计总残余沉积物的积累量约为 13 吨，在一些罐区的积累量高达 20 厘米，这些罐区已经积累了超过 11 年。我们观察到船体内部的污损生物（海葵、水螅和苔藓虫）以及大量存活的无脊椎动物休眠阶段和甲藻孢囊在沉积物中。尽管我们确定在单个压载作业过程中，<1%的残余沉积物及其相关休眠阶段被再悬浮并释放到环境中，但这代表了 21×10 个有活力的甲藻孢囊和 7.5×10 个无脊椎动物休眠阶段的大量接种物，其中许多分类群是非本地的、隐源性的或有毒/有害的物种。所使用的方法和结果将有助于估计与该途径相关的繁殖体压力，并将与残余沉积物和外来物种管理相关。
