July Report: Invasive Species Cost $200 Million Each Year in the Great Lakes

The Center for Aquatic Conservation at the University of Notre Dame released a report this past July about the costs of Invasive Species in the Great Lakes region. Total yearly losses were calculated at $200 Million, with the sport fishing industry leading as the hardest hit ($123.5 Million/year).

Follow the link for a fact sheet on this Report:
http://www.glu.org/english/invasive_species/economy/lodge_factsheet.pdf

Microbial stowaways: Are ships spreading disease?

Ships are inadvertently carrying trillions of stowaways in their ballast water tanks that could pose a risk to public health, according to newly published research. Get the article here.

When water is pumped out of ballast tanks, it can release disease-causing microbes, said Fred Dobbs, a marine microbial ecologist at Old Dominion University in Virginia.

"This is a very difficult thing to predict," Mr. Dobbs said Wednesday in a telephone interview.

"It isn’t an issue, of course, until the ship discharges its ballast water, and anything that’s lived throughout the course of the voyage will subsequently be dumped into receiving waters."

He was able to track Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera in humans, from an outbreak in Peru to Mobile, Ala.

"We had a pretty good smoking gun argument that ships were transporting these disease organisms from South to North America," said Mr. Dobbs, whose article, titled Ship ballast tanks: how microbes travel the world, appears in the recent edition of Microbiology Today.

Untreated cholera can be deadly.

"The deaths are occurring on the Indian subcontinent, principally, and in South America. There are various estimates between 10,000 and 50,000 people per year that die from the disease."

Other disease-causing microbes in ship ballast tanks, which Mr. Dobbs said are sampled very rarely, include Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia duodenalis. Both can cause stomach upset. Researchers also found enterovirus in ballast water, which can cause mild respiratory illness and hand, foot and mouth disease.

"We’re playing ecological roulette . . . with transporting all these species everywhere all the time," Mr. Dobbs said.

He stressed there’s been no documented case of disease outbreaks associated with the ballasting activities of ships.

"In particular, in the U.S. and Canada, we’ve got a couple of things working in our favour. No. 1, the water is cool to cold, depending on how far up the coast you are. And we also have very good hygiene. People aren’t washing their clothes and taking drinking water from the same rivers in which there’s sewage pollution."

But ballast water could carry diseases deadly to fish and seabirds, he said.

"Red tide organisms can be transported by ships as well," said Mr. Dobbs, noting agents that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning can also stow away inside ballast tanks.

"That may be as much, if not more, of an issue for us to be considering. The upshot of this is, whether it’s at the U.S., state, Canadian, national or even the international arena, there are a series of standards that are either being proposed or, in fact, are already in force."

Those regulations stipulate what organisms can be discharged with ballast water.

"These are daunting technological and scientific challenges that, arguably, have been made, in some cases, by politicians who don’t appreciate the technical difficulties involved," Mr. Dobbs said.

Ultraviolet radiation and chlorine can be used to treat ballast water, he said. Ultrasound, heat, microwaves and hydrogen peroxide are also proposed fixes.

"There is filtration, which does a great job, but it can only get down to maybe about 25 micrometres, and your garden variety bacterium is one micrometre or less. So filtration isn’t going to get out bacteria."

Ships pump water into and out of ballast tanks to compensate for cargo, increase propulsion efficiency and maximize stability in rough seas.

Mariners are supposed to discharge their ballast water far out to sea, he said. But that can cost time and fuel, an outlay unscrupulous captains might be anxious to avoid. Skippers can also claim an exemption if seas are rough.

"Some shipping companies are very, very good, and others, it’s hard to know whether they’re good or not. If somebody wants to subvert the system, it’s usually possible."

California AIS Management Plan Released

This plan proposes management actions for addressing aquatic invasive species (AIS) threats to the State of California. It focuses on the non-native algae, crabs, clams, fish, plants and other species that continue to invade California’s creeks, wetlands, rivers, bays and coastal waters.

State surveys indicate that at least 607species of aquatic invaders can be found in California’s estuarine waters. These invaders cause major impacts: disrupting agriculture, shipping, water delivery, recreational and commercial fishing; undermining levees, docks and environmental restoration activities; impeding navigation and enjoyment of the state’s waterways; and damaging native habitats and the species that depend on them. As the ease of transporting organisms across the Americas and around the globe has increased, so has the rate of AIS introductions.

View the plan here.

Water Rate Hike due to Inasive Mussels

Southern California's largest water supplier is set to raise rates to offset higher electrical bills, protect endangered fish and pay for cleanup associated with an invasive mussel. Board members of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District are expected to approve what amounts to a 14.3 percent increase for its water in March, officials said.

Read complete article here.

NY Times Article on AIS Impacts

The NY Times has competed an article about the extent of human impact on the oceans, and aquatic invasive species are listed as a primary threat.

Map showing distribution of AIS impacts

Article on AIS impacts

This article was written using the following sources:

National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis's "A Global Map of Human Impacts to Marine Ecosystems" and Halpern, B.S., et al. 2008. A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems. Science 319, 948.

New report on AIS threat to global marine biodiversity

Some 84 per cent of the world's marine ecosystems have been infected by invasive species - and this number could be even higher due to under-reporting, according to a new study from the Nature Conservancy. Although invasive species are widely recognized as a major threat to marine biodiversity, there has been no quantitative global assessment of their impacts and routes of introduction. The report gives initial results from the first such global assessment. Drawing from over 350 databases and other sources, it synthesizes information on 329 marine invasive species, including their distribution, impacts on biodiversity, and introduction pathways. Initial analyses show that only 16% of marine ecoregions have no reported marine invasions, and even that figure may be inflated due to under-reporting. International shipping, followed by aquaculture, represent the major means of introduction. The geographically referenced and publicly available database provides a framework that can be used to highlight the invasive taxa that are most threatening, as well as to prioritize the invasion pathways that pose the greatest threat.

Get the paper here.

TV Program on AIS in China

To watch Oregon Field Guide's short documentary on AIS, visit:
http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/videos/view/72-China

Expert advice sought on European green crab and Chinese mitten crab

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is asking for assistance in evaluating the dispersal vectors and impacts of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas, and the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is conducting assessments of the risks posed by these two crab species in Canadian waters. Part of the invasive species risk assessment process that has been adopted by DFO's Centre of Expertise in Aquatic Risk Assessment is an expert opinion survey to identify important vectors and impacts of the species, worldwide. They would appreciate your opinions on one or both of these two crab species, by taking the survey at this link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=d5xZnKNPpf_2fn1nvnlY7OZQ_3d_3d

Completing the survey should take just a few minutes of your time. DFO has recently completed biological synopses (extensive literature reviews) on green crab and mitten crab and you can access the citations and URLs for these by clicking on the survey. They will be summarizing the results of the survey in early January, and the risk assessments will be reviewed at a meeting to be held in Montreal in February.

You can reply directly to Andrea Locke at LockeA@DFO-MPO.gc.ca

EPA Looks for Comments on their new document, “Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Invasive Species and Implications for Management and Research”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a 30-day public comment period for the draft document, "Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Invasive Species and Implications for Management and Research'' (EPA/600/R-07/084); Technical comments should be in writing and must be received by EPA by September 10, 2007.

The draft "Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Invasive Species and Implications for Management and Research'' can be downloaded here. Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. “To view the Call for Comments,” or more contact information, click here.

For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail: ORD.Docket@epa.gov. For technical information, contact Britta Bierwagen, NCEA, telephone: 202-564-3388; facsimile: 202-565-0061; or e-mail: bierwagen.britta@epa.gov.

NPR Story: "California Struggles to Protect Waters from Aquatic Invaders"

Since the Gold Rush, California's been a destination for an unwanted hitchhiker. Invasive marine plants and animals can create expensive damage to ecosystems by squeezing out native species. Still, public agencies say it's a challenge to find money and support to prevent problems. As California builds a plan to manage aquatic invasions, KPCC's Molly Peterson examines the effectiveness of programs aimed at stopping seagoing pests. Read or hear the story.

AIS/Hull Fouling Workshop on August 18

AIS/Hull Fouling Workshop on August 18

For more information on this free workshop in San Francisco, CA, click on the title above.