In 2016, the expansion of the Panama Canal will be completed, allowing for the transit of larger vessels from the western Pacific Ocean to locations within the US along both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean coastlines. With this increased vessel traffic comes the increase in invasion risk as these vessels will be carrying larger volumes of ballast water and arriving after a shorter transit time from ports of origin in the western Pacific. The ports of the Gulf of Mexico are projected to see an increase in total ballast water discharge as a result of overall higher vessel traffic as well as diverted traffic from the US West Pacific coast. With this increased vessel traffic there is an increase in the frequency of ballast water discharge events increasing the risk of transfer of western Pacific biota to the Gulf coast. In the past, Asia has been a source of invasive species to the west coast of the US and now this invasion risk will expand into the Gulf region and east coast with the larger inoculation volumes per discharge. It is important to monitor for these unwelcomed guests within the Gulf of Mexico and the East coast to control the spread of these potentially invasive species. One of the outcomes of our discussion is the importance of communication between researchers and industry personnel to increase the awareness of these issues so that we can all work together in a more effective manner. – Jamie
- Article – Projected effects of the Panama Canal expansion on shipping traffic and biological invasions
- Citation – Muirhead, J. R., Minton, M. S., Miller, W. A., & Ruiz, G. M. (2015). Projected effects of the Panama Canal expansion on shipping traffic and biological invasions. Diversity and Distributions, 21(1), 75-87.
- Presenter – Jamie, Phytoplankton Dynamics Lab
Image via CSIRO
TAMUG Journal Club 