Zooplankton in Ships Entering Puget Sound
2001-2005
Jeffery Cordell, Russell Herwig,
Nissa Ferm
School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
University of Washington
Scott Smith, Keith Strieck
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Funding provided by US Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS
Barnacles
Octopus
Bivalves
Meroplankton
Only larvae live
in the water
column.
Decapods
(crabs, shrimps)
Polychaetes
Copepods
Larvaceans
Holoplankton
Jelly
Plankton
Complete life history
takes place in the
water column.
Cladoceran
Other Crustaceans
Mysid Shrimp
Percent composition of
holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San
Francisco Bay, March, 1998
Acartia (Acartiura) spp.
Indigenous Plankton Taxa
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Other Asian Calanoids
Eurytemora affinis
Species of Non-indigenous copepods
in San Francisco Bay
Cyclopoida
Limnoithona sinensis
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Calanoida
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Pseudodiaptomus marinus
Sinocalanus doerri
Acartiella sinensis
Tortanus dextrilobatus
Percent composition of
holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San
Francisco Bay, May, 1998
Indigenous Plankton Taxa
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Other Asian Calanoids
Species of Non-indigenous copepods
in San Francisco Bay
Cyclopoida
Limnoithona sinensis
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Calanoida
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Pseudodiaptomus marinus
Sinocalanus doerri
Acartiella sinensis
Tortanus dextrilobatus
Percent composition of
holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San
Francisco Bay, September, 1998
Indigenous Plankton Taxa
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Other Asian Calanoids
Species of Non-indigenous copepods
in San Francisco Bay
Cyclopoida
Limnoithona sinensis
Limnoithona tetraspina
Oithona davisae
Calanoida
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Pseudodiaptomus marinus
Sinocalanus doerri
Acartiella sinensis
Tortanus dextrilobatus
Percent Numerical Composition of Holoplankton in the
Lower Columbia River, June, 2003
Cyclopoida
Cladocera
Gray's River
Gray's Bay
Diaptomidae
Eurytemora
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Skipanon River
Sinocalanus doerri
Young's River
Longview Ditch
Trojan Power Plant
Woodland Dike
Crane Lake
Sturgeon Lake
Clackamas River
Rooster Rock
Sand Island
Sampling Ship’s Ballast in Puget Sound
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).
www.2s.biglobe.ne.jp
Oithona davisae
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Limnoithona tetraspina
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.
www.marlin.ac.
uk
Neomysis
Barnacle
nauplii
www.microscopyuk.org.uk
Bivalve
larvae
Crab zoea
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
•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
•UW and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are
conducting a sampling and analysis program that will
complement and expand on this work
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
Coastal/non-indigenous organisms m-3 n+1
A
1000000
y = 0.328x - 10160.522
R2 = 0.000
100000
10000
1000
100
10
1
Percent Coastal/non-indigenous Organisms
B
100
y = -0.0106x + 422.54
R2 = 0.026
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2001-02
2003
2004
2005
Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition:
Unexchanged vs. Exchanged
Unexchanged Vessels
Percent
Density
100
1000000
90
Percent
70
10000
60
50
1000
40
100
30
20
Density, Numbers m-3 n+1
100000
80
10
10
0
1
Exchanged Vessels
Percent
100
Density
1000000
90
Percent
70
100000
10000
60
50
1000
40
30
20
100
10
10
0
1
Density, Numbers m-3 n+1
80
Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition:
Major Ship Types
Bulk Carriers
Percent
Tankers
Density + 1
100
Percent
1.00E+05
100
90
50
40
1.00E+02
30
20
70
1.00E+04
60
Percent
1.00E+03
Density, Numbers m-3
60
1.00E+05
80
50
1.00E+03
40
1.00E+02
30
1.00E+01
20
10
Density, Numbers m-3
1.00E+04
70
1.00E+01
10
0
1.00E+00
0
Container Vessels
Percent
100
Articulated Tug/Barge
Density+ 1
Percent
1.0E+05
90
1.0E+03
50
40
1.0E+02
30
20
1.00E+05
60
1.00E+04
50
1.00E+03
40
1.00E+02
30
1.00E+01
20
1.00E+00
10
1.00E-01
0
1.00E-02
1.0E+01
10
0
Percent
70
60
Density + 1
70
1.0E+04
Density, Numbers m-3
80
1.00E+00
1.0E+00
Density, Numbers m-3
Percent
1.00E+06
90
80
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 Nonindigenous and Coastal Organisms by Source
Non-indigenous
Mean
Percent
Mean
Density, m-3
Coastal
Source Region
Number
Sampled
Mean
Percent
Mean
Density, 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
•Exchanged ships have lower percentages of non-indigenous and
coastal/non-indigenous taxa than non-exchanged ships
•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)
•Ballast Source: California was significantly higher than other major
regions in nonindigenous and coastal/nonindigenous densities and
percents
•Season: No effect of season (winter, spring, summer, fall) or before and
after increased regulatory scrutiny
•Exchange has more affect on domestic trips than on international trips, but
only for percents
Ships Sampled Multiple Times
ATB Sea Reliance
Percent Non-indigenous
*
Density-Non-indigenous
SPB: San Pedro Bay
SFB: San Francisco Bay
CR: Columbia River
PS: Puget Sound
40
Density-Total Zooplankton
SFB
35
CR
90000
Percent
70000
*
*
CR
60000
CR
20
50000
40000
15
10
30000
SPB
SPB
20000
*
SPB
5
Density, Number m-3
80000
30
25
CR
SPB
3/03/05
6/01/05
10000
0
0
10/08/04
1/28/05
1/28/05
9/02/05
10/05/05
10/05/05
1/10/06
ATB Ocean Reliance
Percent Non-indigenous
Density-Non-indigenous
Density-Total Zooplankton
SFB
45
40
35000
30000
SFB
25000
35
30
20000
25
15000
20
CR
15
10000
10
SPB
5
SPB
*
*
SFB
SFB
3/17/05
3/17/05
PS
5000
SPB
CR
0
0
9/30/04
9/30/04
10/23/04 10/23/04
10/19/05 12/21/05
1/06/06
1/06/06
Density, Number m-3
50
Percent
* Indicates no exchange
100000
*
Conclusions
•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
•There may be large differences in compliance among
individual ships—exchange effectiveness still depends on
individual captain/crew choice
Continuing 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
•Expand Columbia River sampling
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-andafter 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?