Title

Modelling the invasion risk of diapausing organisms transported in ballast sediments

Author ORCID Identifier

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7264-732X

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2005

Publication Title

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

Volume

62

Issue

10

First Page

2386

Last Page

2398

Abstract

Biological invasions via ship ballast are a major driver of biodiversity change in aquatic systems. In the Laurentian Great Lakes basin, unique shipping operations pose a particular invasion risk. The majority ( > 90%) of incoming vessels are not fully loaded with ballast water but carry ballast sediments and residual water. Ballast sediments contain viable diapause organisms that could hatch and be released during routine ballast operations. To assess invasion risk and control of this pathway, we constructed and parameterized a dynamic hatching model for three representative groups of freshwater organisms that undergo diapause: rotifers, cladocerans, and copepods. Numerical model simulations show that ballast sediment is a plausible invasion pathway for all three groups. The model also illustrates that postuptake ballast treatment to remove or kill potential invaders should be applied as late as possible prior to deballasting to minimize the number of live organisms released. Simulations show that the ability of taxa to reproduce parthenogenetically inside a ballast tank greatly influences quantitative predictions of both risk and control. © 2005 NRC.

DOI

10.1139/f05-146

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