Ballast water risk assessment: principles, processes, and methods

Two methods of assessing the risk of species introduction by ballast water are discussed, species-specific and environmental similarity assessments, each for alignment with four proposed principles of risk-based resource management: (i) society accepts that low risk scenarios exist; (ii) risk assessment is capable of identifying low risk scenarios; (iii) risk mitigation strategies exist; and (iv) mitigation costs are less than the cost of performing risk assessment. All four principles were met in some circumstances for both methods. Species-specific ballast water risk assessment is best suited to situations where the assessment can be restricted to a limited set of harmful species on journeys within bioregions where ballast water is a small component of natural genetic exchange. Environmental similarity risk assessment is appropriate for journeys that start and end in locations which have very little or no natural genetic exchange, such as journeys between non-contiguous bioregions. Because a large number of species are not assessed individually, environmental match assessments necessarily will be restricted to fundamental variables such as temperature and salinity. A number of bioregion classifications have been identified in the world’s oceans, some of which at a scale that may be appropriate for ballast water management. The suitability of any particular classification, however, needs further examination. Keywords: biological invasions, biological regions, environmental similarity risk assessment, species-specific risk assessment

[1]  Beatrice Gralton,et al.  Washington DC - USA , 2008 .

[2]  J. Levine,et al.  Biological Invasions , 2004 .

[3]  S. Cavirani,et al.  Evolution of the cooperation between the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission. , 2007, Revue scientifique et technique.

[4]  G. Inglis,et al.  Sensitivity and cost considerations for the detection and eradication of marine pests in ports. , 2005, Marine pollution bulletin.

[5]  J. Corbett,et al.  Coastal and Port Environments: International Legal and Policy Responses to Reduce Ballast Water Introductions of Potentially Invasive Species , 2005 .

[6]  T. Robinson,et al.  Marine alien species of South Africa — status and impacts , 2005 .

[7]  C. Hoek World-wide latitudinal and longitudinal seaweed distribution patterns and their possible causes, as illustrated by the distribution of Rhodophytan genera , 1984, Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen.

[8]  I. Wallentinus,et al.  Can species traits be used to predict marine macroalgal introductions? , 2005, Biological Invasions.

[9]  Hugh P. Possingham,et al.  Minimizing the cost of environmental management decisions by optimizing statistical thresholds , 2004 .

[10]  S. Lourie,et al.  Using Biogeography to Help Set Priorities in Marine Conservation , 2004 .

[11]  G. Carpenter,et al.  DOMAIN: a flexible modelling procedure for mapping potential distributions of plants and animals , 1993, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[12]  R. Thresher,et al.  Introduced and cryptogenic species in Port Phillip , 2004 .

[13]  Michael J. Keough,et al.  Introduced and cryptogenic species in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia , 2004 .

[14]  Nicholas J. Bax,et al.  Marine invasive alien species: a threat to global biodiversity , 2003 .

[15]  M. Riddle,et al.  Marine introductions in the Southern Ocean: an unrecognised hazard to biodiversity. , 2003, Marine pollution bulletin.

[16]  C. Hewitt Marine Biosecurity Issues in the World Oceans: Global Activities and Australian Directions , 2003 .

[17]  C. Hewitt The diversity of likely impacts of introduced marine species in Australian waters , 2003 .

[18]  James T. Carlton,et al.  Introduced species in U.S. coastal waters: environmental impacts and management priorities , 2003 .

[19]  K. Hayes,et al.  Biosecurity and the role of risk assessment. , 2003 .

[20]  Keith R Hayes,et al.  Identifying potential marine pests--a deductive approach applied to Australia. , 2003, Marine pollution bulletin.

[21]  C. Hewitt Distribution and Biodiversity of Australian Tropical Marine Bioinvasions , 2002 .

[22]  Alfred M. Duda,et al.  A new imperative for improving management of large marine ecosystems , 2002 .

[23]  Gerd Petra Haugom,et al.  Risk Based Methodology to Assess Invasive Aquatic Species in Ballast Water , 2002 .

[24]  G. Ruiz,et al.  Toward Understanding Patterns of Coastal Marine Invasions: A Prospectus , 2002 .

[25]  H. MacIsaac,et al.  Modeling ships' ballast water as invasion threats to the Great Lakes , 2002 .

[26]  William C. Walton,et al.  Going to the source: role of the invasion pathway in determining potential invaders , 2001 .

[27]  Antoine Guisan,et al.  Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology , 2000 .

[28]  Steven D. Gaines,et al.  Temperature or Transport? Range Limits in Marine Species Mediated Solely by Flow , 2000, The American Naturalist.

[29]  Helmut Volger,et al.  IMO – International Maritime Organization , 2000, A Concise Encyclopedia of the United Nations.

[30]  M. Dickman,et al.  Mid-ocean exchange of container vessel ballast water. 2: Effects of vessel type in the transport of diatoms and dinoflagellates from Manzanillo, Mexico, to Hong Kong, China , 1999 .

[31]  Marnie L. Campbell,et al.  Marine biological invasions of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria , 1999 .

[32]  S. Gollasch,et al.  Initial risk assessment of alien species in nordic coastal waters , 1999 .

[33]  Norway,et al.  Invasive species and biodiversity management , 1999 .

[34]  A. Ricciardi,et al.  Predicting the identity and impact of future biological invaders: a priority for aquatic resource management , 1998 .

[35]  A. Longhurst Ecological Geography of the Sea , 1998 .

[36]  Robin A. Clark,et al.  Non-native Marine Species in British Waters: A Review and Directory , 1997 .

[37]  M. Soulé,et al.  Lag times in population explosions of invasive species: causes and implications , 1999 .

[38]  Richard N. Mack,et al.  Predicting the identity and fate of plant invaders: emergent and emerging approaches. , 1996 .

[39]  Lewis M. Alexander,et al.  Large Marine Ecosystems: Stress, Mitigation and Sustainability , 1995 .

[40]  James T. Carlton,et al.  Shipping Study: The Role of Shipping in the Introduction of Non-indigenous Aquatic Organisms to the Coastal Waters of the United States (Other than the Great Lakes) and an Analysis of Control Options. , 1995 .

[41]  G. Jaenicke The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the Convention , 1995 .

[42]  Graeme Kelleher,et al.  A Global representative system of marine protected areas , 1995 .

[43]  A. Cropper Convention on Biological Diversity , 1993, Environmental Conservation.

[44]  D. Lodge,et al.  Biological invasions: Lessons for ecology. , 1993, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[45]  P. Slovic Perception of risk. , 1987, Science.

[46]  C. Yarish,et al.  Survival Strategies and Temperature Responses of Seaweeds Belonging to Different Biogeographic Distribution Groups , 1986 .

[47]  James T. Carlton,et al.  Transoceanic and interoceanic dispersal of coastal marine organisms: the biology of ballast water , 1985 .

[48]  V. Grant,et al.  Experimental Studies on the Nature of Species. VI. Interspecific Hybrid Derivatives between Facultatively Apomictic Species of Bluegrasses and their Responses to Contrasting Environments. , 1983 .

[49]  C. Hoek The distribution of benthic marine algae in relation to the temperature regulation of their life histories , 1982 .

[50]  G. Michanek Phytogeographic Provinces and Seaweed Distribution , 1979 .

[51]  Sven Ekman,et al.  Zoogeography of the sea , 1953 .

[52]  J. Clausen,et al.  Effect of varied environments on western North American plants , 1940 .