Ballast Water Program
Shipward - Introducing exotic and invasive species around the world: Concerns for Texas
Worldwide, concerns by business, government and the private sector regarding transport-ecosystem
interactions focus on the introduction of hazardous materials from ship ballast water,
particularly exotic and/or invasive species. While the vast majority of ships exchange
ballast water 200 miles outside ports, many cannot, and only exchange ballast water
once they are inside the safety of harbors. Along the Texas coastline, there are 13
major ports (Fig. 1). Of these, the Port of Houston is the busiest port in the United
States in terms of foreign tonnage, second busiest in the United States in terms of
overall tonnage, and the sixth largest marine terminal complex in the world.
North Channel Chamber of Commerce. Further south, the Port of Corpus Christi ranks as the
fifth largest port in the United States. Currently, ports in Texas are busier than
ever with the loss of and damage to port facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in summer 2005.
Texas A&M University at Galveston is home to the Texas Maritime Academy, one of only six
seacoast state funded maritime academies in the U.S. Students at the school are prepared for
licensing as an officer in the American Merchant Marine. Many also choose to study Marine
Biology, Marine Sciences, Marine Transportation or Marine Engineering Technology. Each year
students serve as crewmembers aboard summer training cruises. For summers 2006 and 2007,
TAMUG has teamed up with the California Maritime Academy. Ports for the 2006 cruises aboard
the T.S Golden Bear are: Vallejo (CA), Zihuatanejo (Mexico), Lima (Peru), Valparaiso (Chile)
and Caldera (Costa Rica).
Our study (in collaboration with Dr. Robin Brinkmeyer) will examine the diversity of these microbial communities in samples collected from ports and ballast water all around the world, with special emphasis on ballast water on ships coming into the Ports of Houston and Corpus Christi. Maritime academies and shipping companies will assist us with these collections. Diversity will be characterized using ribosomal RNA genes: 16S-bacteria and 18S-phyotplankton. We will determine the endemic microbial populations relative to invasive and or exotic species. This project forms the basis of several theses:
- Bacteria - Ms. Elizabeth Neyland
- Microalgae - Ms. Jamie Steichen
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Figure 1. Major Texas Ports (www.bidc.state.tx.us)
Brownsville (1) Isabel (2) Mansfield (3) Corpus Christi (4) Aransas (5) Freeport (6) Galveston (7)Texas City (8) Houston (9) Sabine Pass (10) Port Arthur (11) Beaumont (12) and Orange (13).
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Links
National Ballast Information Clearing HouseTexas Sea Grant
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