Levings, C.D., Piercy, G.E., Galbraith, M., Jamieson, G.S. 1998. Analyses of Invertabrate Fauna in Ballast Water Collected in Ships Arriving at British Columbia Ports, Especially Those From the Western North Pacific. Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Analyses of Invertabrate Fauna in Ballast Water Collected in Ships Arriving at British Columbia Ports, Especially Those From the Western North Pacific

Abstract
Between December 1995 and January 1997 we conducted the first ballast water sampling program from ships in British Columbia (BC) ports, with emphasis on Vancouver. The project focused on invertebrates and on vessels arriving from northeast Asian ports as well as some from the northeast Pacific.

Five of the 67 samples examined did not contain any organisms. In the others, organisms ranging from springtails to decapod zoea to medusae were obtained, with maximum abundance about 12932 animals mm3. Larval forms of crustaceans, polychaetes, molluscs and other taxa were common in the samples. Cyclopoid and calanoid copepods were the most abundant taxa, accounting for approximately 50% of the 35000 animals observed. One of the calanoids found (Pseudodiuptomus marinus) is indigenous to Asia and has colonized coastal embayments in California. Results confirmed that ballast water disposed of in BC waters has the potential to introduce non-indigenous species from other parts of the North Pacific Ocean.

Contact: Dr. Colin D. Levings, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Marine Environment & Habitat Science, 4160 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, British Columbia, V7V 1N6, CANADA
Keywords: Ballast_water
Product Type: Publication,Proceedings
User Type: Boating_and_Shipping