Zooplankton in Ships Entering Puget Sound 2001-2005

Zooplankton in Ships Entering Puget Sound

2001-2005

Jeffery Cordell, Russell Herwig, Jeffery Cordell, Russell Herwig,

Nissa FermNissa Ferm

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences

University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington

Scott Smith, Keith StrieckScott Smith, Keith Strieck

Washington Department of Fish and WildlifeWashington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Funding provided by US Fish and Wildlife Service, USGSFunding provided by US Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS

Only larvae live in the water

column.

Meroplankton

Barnacles Octopus Bivalves

Decapods

(crabs, shrimps)

Polychaetes

HoloplanktonJelly Plankton

Copepods

Cladoceran

Mysid Shrimp

Larvaceans

Other CrustaceansComplete life history

takes place in the water column.

Eurytemora affinis

Other Asian Calanoids

Oithona davisae

Limnoithona tetraspina

Indigenous Plankton Taxa

Acartia (Acartiura) spp.

Percent composition of holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San Francisco Bay, March, 1998

Species of Non-indigenous copepodsin San Francisco Bay

CyclopoidaLimnoithona sinensisLimnoithona tetraspinaOithona davisaeCalanoidaPseudodiaptomus forbesiPseudodiaptomus marinusSinocalanus doerriAcartiella sinensisTortanus dextrilobatus


Oithona davisae



Percent composition of holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San

Francisco Bay, May, 1998




Oithona davisae



Percent composition of holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San

Francisco Bay, September, 1998



Skipanon River

Longview Ditch

Sinocalanus doerri

Pseudodiaptomus forbesi

Eurytemora

Diaptomidae

Cladocera

Cyclopoida

Sand Island

Trojan Power Plant

Woodland Dike

Clackamas RiverRooster Rock

Sturgeon Lake

Crane Lake

Gray's River

Gray's Bay

Young's River

Percent Numerical Composition of Holoplankton in the Lower Columbia River, June, 2003

Sampling Ship’s Ballast in Puget Sound

Pseudodiaptomus forbesi

Limnoithona tetraspinaOithona davisae

www.2s.biglobe.ne.jp

Non-indigenous Organisms that are known to be non-indigenous to the west coast of the Pacific Northwest. These can include holoplankton (spending entire life cycle in water column) and meroplankton (spending only larval stages in water column).

Coastal Organisms characteristic of bays and other

nearshore habitats are assumed to be non-indigenous when the ballast source is not local. This consists mostly of larval meroplankton that usually can’t be identified to species.

Neomysis Barnacle nauplii

Bivalve larvae

Crab zoea

www.microscopy-uk.org.ukwww.marlin.a

c.uk

Oceanic/Unknown Organisms characteristic open ocean habitats,

plus those that can occur in both coastal and oceanic waters, they consist mostly of holoplanktonic copepods.

Calanus Tortanus Pseudocalanus

Puget Sound Ship Sampling

•UW and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are conducting a sampling and analysis program that will complement and expand on this work

•Ship sampling started February 2001, and is continuing in Puget Sound and Columbia River ports

•Replicated plankton sampling of 246 ships sampled through end of 2005 has been analyzed

•Three vertical plankton hauls with 73 micrometer mesh net taken on each ship

•Most holoplankton (copepods) identified to species, all taxa assigned as nonindigenous, coastal, oceanic, or unidentified affinity

Source of Ballast Water:Region and Ship Type

Region Bulk Carrier

Container

Tanker Articulated Tug/Barge

Other Total Percent

Japan 77 11 0 0 0 88 35.8

China 18 11 0 0 1 30 12.2

South Korea 13 4 0 0 1 18 7.3

California 5 5 32 16 6 61 24.8

British Columbia

2 7 0 0 0 9 3.7

Pacific Ocean 5 12 4 0 0 21 8.5

Other 4 5 3 4 0 19 7.7

Total 124 55 39 20 8 246

Percent 50 22.8 15.8 8.1 3.3

Exchange Locations from Ship’s Log Coordinates

Overall Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition

B

y = -0.0106x + 422.54

R2 = 0.026

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2001-02 2003 2004 2005

A

y = 0.328x - 10160.522

R2 = 0.000

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Unexchanged Vessels

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Exchanged Vessels

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Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition: Unexchanged vs. Exchanged

Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition: Major Ship Types

Articulated Tug/Barge

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Percent Density + 1

Tankers

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Percent Density + 1

Container Vessels

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Percent Density+ 1

Bulk Carriers

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Percent Density + 1

Average Percent Composition and Densities of Coastal/non-indigenous Taxa by Ship Type

Ship Type Mean Percent

Standard Deviation

Mean Density, m-3

Standard Deviation

Bulk Carrier (123) 17.9 26.1 1034.5 3525.7

Container (57) 25.6 31.0 1141.0 5667.2

Tanker (39) 13.0 19.3 6783.3 25620.4

Articulated Tug/Barge (20) 18.4 18.9 4999.5 11973.0

General Cargo (7) 25.6 27.3 3718.8 9277.9

Average Percent Composition and Densities of Non-indigenous and Coastal Organisms by Source

Non-indigenous Coastal

Source Region NumberSampled

MeanPercent

MeanDensity, m-3

MeanPercent

MeanDensity, m-3

Columbia River 4 21.8 1182.7 12.1 558.9

British Columbia 3 10.6 1513.2 8.6 1162.5

California 58 9.8 4304.7 6.8 1992.3

Pacific Ocean 20 5.8 1323.6 14.6 435.8

Japan 85 7.5 609.9 15.0 741.5

South Korea 18 0.3 3.2 10.9 134.6

China 29 0.4 32.0 12.5 370.1

Unknown 17 0.0 0.0 25.5 158.9

Statistics Results—ANOVA and Non-parametric Tests•Vessel Category/Exchange Method, Interaction: Exchange method was marginally significant (ER <FT and <no exchange) (p = 0.05) for nonindigenous percent and coastal and nonindigenous percent—no interactions found

•Vessel Category: Articulated Tug/Barge and Tankers had higher densities and percents than other vessel categories and the differences were usually highly significant (p < 0.01)

•Season: No effect of season (winter, spring, summer, fall) or before and after increased regulatory scrutiny

•Ballast Source: California was significantly higher than other major regions in nonindigenous and coastal/nonindigenous densities and percents

•Exchanged ships have lower percentages of non-indigenous and coastal/non-indigenous taxa than non-exchanged ships

•Exchange has more affect on domestic trips than on international trips, but only for percents

Ships Sampled Multiple TimesATB Sea Reliance

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10/08/04 1/28/05 1/28/05 3/03/05 6/01/05 9/02/05 10/05/05 10/05/05 1/10/06

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Percent Non-indigenous

Density-Non-indigenous

Density-Total Zooplankton

CR

SPB

SPB

SFB

SPB

SPB

CRCR

CR

ATB Ocean Reliance

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9/30/04 9/30/04 10/23/04 10/23/04 3/17/05 3/17/05 10/19/05 12/21/05 1/06/06 1/06/06

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Density-Non-indigenous

Density-Total Zooplankton

SFB

SFB

SFBSPB SPB

PS

SPB CR

CR

*SFB

*

*

*

**

*SPB: San Pedro BaySFB: San Francisco BayCR: Columbia RiverPS: Puget Sound

* Indicates no exchange

Conclusions

•There may be large differences in compliance among individual ships—exchange effectiveness still depends on individual captain/crew choice

•Both densities and percent composition of non-indigenous and coastal organisms in ships entering Puget Sound appear to be decreasing, but are highly variable

•ATB’s and tankers on coastal routes may pose higher risk than ships on cross-ocean routes

•California as ballast source appears to be particularly risky

•Experiments have shown exchange to be very effective, but compliance measures are needed to increase “good” exchanges

Continuing Sampling

•Expand Columbia River sampling

•Ship sampling by WDFW is continuing; we are developing a sampling program incorporating both random and targeted sampling

•Mesh size of net changing to take into account IMO standards (50 µm diagonal)

•Continue following individual ships across time

•Begin a digital photo library of non-indigenous and coastal organisms found in ship’s ballast

Remaining Questions

•What constitutes acceptable risk--do we know enough about it to “pass” or “fail” ship’s ballast based on zooplankton composition?

•Measuring zooplankton in ballast can determine compliance if it is based on absolute numbers per unit area of target organisms, but not efficiency of exchange (unless before-and-after exchange samples are taken).

•Are there any “indicator” taxa or discrete suite of taxa that can be reliably used to assess risk, or is a larger suite of organisms required?

•Can determination of coastal and/or nonindigenous “risky” taxa be standardized and made reliable enough for routine application?

Documents

Zooplankton in Ships Entering Puget Sound 2001-2005