Ship ballast residual sediments are an important vector of introduction for non-indigenous species. We evaluated the proportion of residual sediments and associated organisms released during de-ballasting operations of a commercial bulk carrier and estimated a total residual sediment accumulation of ∼13 t, with accumulations of up to 20 cm in some tank areas that had accumulated over 11 years. We observed interior hull-fouling (anemones, hydrozoans, and bryozoans) and high abundances of viable invertebrate resting stages and dinoflagellate cysts in sediments. Although we determined that <1 % of residual sediments and associated resting stages were resuspended and released into the environment during individual de-ballasting events, this represents a substantial inoculum of 21 × 107 viable dinoflagellate cysts and 7.5 × 105 invertebrate resting stages with many taxa being nonindigenous, cryptogenic, or toxic/harmful species. The methods used and results will help estimate propagule pressure associated with this pathway and will be relevant for residual sediments and nonindigenous species management.

中文翻译：

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排压载过程中压载残留沉积物的排放：对繁殖体压力的更现实的估计


船舶压载残留沉积物是非本地物种引入的重要载体。我们评估了一艘商用散货船卸压载操作过程中释放的残余沉积物和相关生物的比例，估计残余沉积物累积总量约为 13 吨，其中一些储罐区域的累积量已超过 11 年，累积量高达 20 厘米。我们观察到沉积物中的船体内部污垢（海葵、水螅虫和苔藓虫）以及大量存活的无脊椎动物休眠期和甲藻包囊。尽管我们确定 <1% 的残留沉积物和相关的休​​眠阶段在各个卸压载事件期间被重新悬浮并释放到环境中，但这代表了 21 × 107 个活甲藻包囊和 7.5 × 105 个具有许多分类单元的无脊椎动物休眠阶段的大量接种是非本土的、隐源的或有毒/有害的物种。使用的方法和结果将有助于估计与该途径相关的繁殖压力，并将与残留沉积物和非本地物种管理相关。