TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing ballast water treatments
T2 - Evaluation of viability methods for ambient freshwater microplankton assemblages
AU - Reavie, Euan D
AU - Cangelosi, Allegra A.
AU - Allinger, Lisa E.
PY - 2010/9/1
Y1 - 2010/9/1
N2 - For decades the Great Lakes have been subject to invasive species introductions through the discharge of ships' ballast water. Several treatment technologies involving physical, chemical, and biological processes have been developed to remove or inactivate organisms in this discharge. Assessing the efficacy of these technologies involves estimating the number of viable propagules in treated discharge relative to untreated controls. For organisms in the 10-50μm size range, for example, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandates that fewer than 10 viable organisms per milliliter may be discharged. To date, however, there is no standard method to assess viability of natural assemblages of organisms in this size group (largely phytoplankton and protozoans) in freshwater environments. We report here on a process of assemblage concentration, staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA), and microscopic observation as a reliable and efficient method to assess densities of viable freshwater organisms in this size category in ballast discharge. A number of other methods, including digestion with enzymes, flow cytometry, and a variety of vital and mortal stains, were tested and discarded during this vetting process due to inconsistent or ambiguous results.
AB - For decades the Great Lakes have been subject to invasive species introductions through the discharge of ships' ballast water. Several treatment technologies involving physical, chemical, and biological processes have been developed to remove or inactivate organisms in this discharge. Assessing the efficacy of these technologies involves estimating the number of viable propagules in treated discharge relative to untreated controls. For organisms in the 10-50μm size range, for example, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandates that fewer than 10 viable organisms per milliliter may be discharged. To date, however, there is no standard method to assess viability of natural assemblages of organisms in this size group (largely phytoplankton and protozoans) in freshwater environments. We report here on a process of assemblage concentration, staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA), and microscopic observation as a reliable and efficient method to assess densities of viable freshwater organisms in this size category in ballast discharge. A number of other methods, including digestion with enzymes, flow cytometry, and a variety of vital and mortal stains, were tested and discarded during this vetting process due to inconsistent or ambiguous results.
KW - Algae
KW - Ballast water
KW - Fluorescein diacetate
KW - Invasive species
KW - Phytoplankton
KW - Viability
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77956169580&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jglr.2010.05.007
DO - 10.1016/j.jglr.2010.05.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77956169580
VL - 36
SP - 540
EP - 547
JO - Journal of Great Lakes Research
JF - Journal of Great Lakes Research
SN - 0380-1330
IS - 3
ER -