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December 2001 |
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If you choose to follow any links to the abstracts and/or complete text of articles, books, and documents listed below, you will be leaving the Strategian Web site. If you wish to return to this page from the Web page you are sent to, please use the Back option of your browser. Feature Items: Mario N. Tamburri, Kerstin Wasson, and Masayasu Matsuda Ballast Water Deoxygenation Can Prevent Aquatic Introductions While Reducing Ship Corrosion. (... one of the most important mechanisms for the introduction of aquatic nuisance species is transport in ship ballast waters--organisms native to one area are picked up when ships fill their ballast tanks with water and then are transported to other locations and released [with the ballast water] in areas where they have no or few natural predators. As a result, those organisms may reproduce at a much faster rate than native species and end up causing various sorts of ecological and economic damage in their new home area. Although several ballast tank treatments to prevent transport of aquatic organisms appear promising, all existing approaches will result in significant costs to the shipping industry. This study describes a treatment that can dramatically reduce the survivorship of most organisms found in ballast waters while providing economic benefits to ship owners. The technique involves replacing the oxygen in the ballast water with nitrogen. This has been found to be a cost-effective technique for reducing corrosion [on the bottoms of ships] and therefore extending ship life. At the same time, a test of the larvae of known invasive invertebrate species plus a review of the existing scholarly literature shows that few organisms will be able to withstand [live through] extended periods of exposure to nitrogen-treated ballast water. Other keywords and phrases -- anticorrosion, exotic species, hypoxia, invader, invasion, invasive species, larval, low level, marine conservation, mortality, oxygen, tolerance -- from the text of the abstract) Biological Conservation Volume 103, Number 3 (March 2002): 331-341. How to find the above journals, magazines, and other publications? See Step 3: Locate of the Information Strategy for details. Questions about any or all of the above? Please let me know. |
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