Invasions by non-native aquatic species are increasingly common worldwide in coastal habitats and it is widely accepted that ballast water is the most important vector responsible for transporting and introducing non-native species to new biogeographic regions. Aquatic invasive species often alter the habitats they colonize, can cause local extinction of native species and can have enormous economic impacts (e.g., zebra mussel invasion alone is estimated to cost the US billions of dollars annually). To address this critical environmental and economic problem, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) passed regulations that will eventually require vessels to treat ballast water prior to discharge and additional US state and federal regulations are pending. It has proven challenging, however, to find an environmentally friendly ballast water treatment that is effective at reducing the potential for introductions and yet also feasible for the shipping industry. This presentation will review the problem of aquatic invasive species, regulatory approaches designed to address this issue and treatment technologies being developed for shipboard application. In particular, evaluations of a ballast water treatment system called Venturi Oxygen Stripping (VOS) will be used as a case study. VOS is interesting because it appears to dramatically reduce the likelihood of invasions while simultaneously providing an economic incentive for ship owners through significant reductions in ballast tank corrosion.

Dr. Mario N. Tamburri is Research Associate Professor with the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Executive Director for the Alliance for Coastal Technologies. Dr. Tamburri’s research interests are in understanding the mechanisms that regulate basic biological and ecological processes. Much of his basic research has examined how chemoreception (the sense of smell and taste) regulates larval settlement and feeding behaviors of organisms living in diverse habitats ranging from estuaries to the deep sea. Some of his recent work has also included groundbreaking studies on two critical environmental issues, carbon dioxide sequestration in the sea and ballast water transport of invasive species.