Brine-induced mortality of non-indigenous invertebrates in residual ballast water
Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2010
Publication Title
Marine Environmental Research
Volume
70
Issue
5
First Page
395
Last Page
401
Abstract
All transoceanic vessels entering the Great Lakes are required to manage ballast water and ballast tank residuals with ballast water exchange and tank flushing, respectively. While these management procedures effectively reduce the density and richness of biota in ballast waters and thereby reduce the risk of transferring non-indigenous species, some ships are unable to uniformly manage all tanks. Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate sodium chloride brine as an emergency treatment for ballast tanks with non-compliant residuals. Invertebrate communities collected from i) Detroit River, ii) exchanged ballast tanks arriving in the Great Lakes, and iii) North Sea ports, were exposed to a range of brine concentrations (15-115‰) until complete mortality was reached. Results indicate that a 1-h exposure to 115‰ brine is a broadly effective treatment (>99.9% mortality) regardless of treatment temperature, taxonomic group, or species' source habitat salinity. A median of 0.00% (range 0.00-5.33) of individuals are expected to survive treatment and the expected number of viable individuals released after treatment is within Canadian and proposed international discharge standards. Before implementation, validation with ship-scale trials is recommended. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.
DOI
10.1016/j.marenvres.2010.08.003
Recommended Citation
Bradie, J. N.; Bailey, S. A.; van der Velde, G.; and MacIsaac, Hugh J., "Brine-induced mortality of non-indigenous invertebrates in residual ballast water" (2010). Marine Environmental Research, 70, 5, 395-401.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/biologypub/454