1. Zooplankton in Ships Entering Puget Sound
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

2. Meroplankton Octopus Bivalves Barnacles Only larvae live in the water
column.
Polychaetes
Decapods
(crabs, shrimps)

3. Holoplankton Copepods Larvaceans Jelly Plankton Complete life history
takes place in the
water column.
Cladoceran
Other Crustaceans
Mysid Shrimp

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

5. Percent composition of holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San Francisco Bay, May, 1998
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

6. Percent composition of holoplankton ≥ 73 µm in San Francisco Bay, September, 1998
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

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

8. Sampling Ship’s Ballast in Puget Sound

9. 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).
Oithona davisae
Pseudodiaptomus forbesi
Limnoithona tetraspina

10. 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.
Crab zoea
Neomysis
Barnacle nauplii
Bivalve larvae

11. 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

12. 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

13. Source of Ballast Water: Region and Ship Type
Bulk Carrier
Container
Tanker
Articulated Tug/Barge
Other
Total
Percent
Japan 77 11 88
35.8
China 18 1 30
12.2
South Korea 13 4
7.3
California 5 32 16 6 61
24.8
British Columbia 2 7 9
3.7
Pacific Ocean 12 21
8.5 3 19
7.7
124 55 39 20 8
246 50
22.8
15.8
8.1
3.3

14. Exchange Locations from Ship’s Log Coordinates

15. Overall Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition

16. Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition: Unexchanged vs. Exchanged

17. Coastal/Nonindigenous Composition: Major Ship Types

18. Average Percent Composition and Densities of Coastal/non-indigenous Taxa by Ship Type
Mean Percent
Standard Deviation
Mean Density, m-3
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
Articulated Tug/Barge (20)
18.4
18.9
4999.5
General Cargo (7)
27.3
3718.8
9277.9

19. Average Percent Composition and Densities of Non-indigenous and Coastal Organisms by Source
Source Region
Number
Sampled
Mean
Percent
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
25.5
158.9

20. 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

21. Ships Sampled Multiple Times
SPB: San Pedro Bay
SFB: San Francisco Bay
CR: Columbia River
PS: Puget Sound
* Indicates no exchange

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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?