New Zealand marine biosecurity research directions to underpin management

Since the Rio Convention, human-mediated activities leading to species loss have become central concerns, leading to significant effort to prevent, ameliorate, and mitigate impacts. One leading factor is the transport and establishment of non-native species in regions and communities where they did not evolve

Baseline survey of the Port of Darwin for introduced marine species

In 1997, the Northern Territory Government recognised that with development of Darwin as a major commercial shipping hub, there was a need to provide information upon which assessment could be made of the status of the Port of Darwin as regards introduced marine pests, and committed significant funding (approximately $340,000) for a major baseline study of the port to be carried out under National Port Survey Program guidelines over two years (1998-1999)..

Historical and modern invasions to Port Phillip Bay, Australia: The most invaded southern embayment?

Port Phillip Bay (PPB) is a large (1900km2), temperate embayment in southern Victoria, Australia. Extensive bay-wide surveys of PPB have occurred between 1803 and 1963. In 1995/96 the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) undertook an intensive evaluation of the region with the aims of developing a comprehensive species list of native and introduced fauna and contrasting previous bay-wide assessments with a current field survey in order to detect new incursions and discern alterations to native communities. Two methods were used to meet the aims: a re-evaluation of regional museum collections and published research in PPB to identify and determine the timing of introductions; and field surveys for introduced benthic (infauna, epifauna, and encrusting) organisms conducted by CRIMP between September 1995 and March 1996. The historic component of PPB invasions groups into four periods based on significant shifts in trade activities: exploration/colonization (pre-1839), immigration (1839-1851), Gold Rush (1852-1860), and modern mechanisms (including aquaculture; 1861-present). Invasions within PPB appear to be increasing, possibly due to an increase in modern shipping traffic and an increase in aquaculture (historically associated with incidental introductions); however, the records of extensive biological surveys suggest that this may in part be an artifact of sampling effort. As expected, the majority of introductions are concentrated around the shipping ports of Geelong and Melbourne. Recent incursions into the region include Undaria pinnatifida, Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides, Asterias amurensis, Schizoporella unicornis, and Pyromaia tuberculata. Port Phillip Bay is presented as one of the most invaded marine ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere

The relative contribution of vectors to the introduction and translocation of invasive marine species

Whether intentional or not, humans have been responsible for the translocation of invasive marine species. The indicative representations of association suggest that biofouling has been the most prevalent mechanism contributing to such invasions across the globe. Biofouling is one of the oldest mechanisms of human-mediated transport of marine species, beginning with early human movements on small scales and eventually leading to world explorations with the European Expansion from 1500 AD onwards. The most common means of biofouling is marine species attaching themselves to any part of a vessel, or any equipment attached to or onboard the vessel, aquaculture equipment and mooring devices. In contrast, ballast water is a relatively new vector of transport, with the earliest ballast water use recorded in the late 19th century. Ballast water – water (including sediment that has been contained in water) held in tanks and cargo holds of ships to increase stability and manoeuvrability during transit – represents an expansion of transport opportunity to the vast majority of the benthic species associated with biofouling. This project assessed the relative contributions of known marine pest vectors in terms of the introduction and translocation of marine invasive species on a national basis (in Australia) through a review of the National Port Survey Database (NPSD) and on a worldwide basis through a literature review. The information represented by the global dataset and the NPSD provide a useful tool for identification of species associations with modern vectors of transport, and the opportunity to identify likely relationships for future entry. Analysis of the global dataset indicated that more species have life history characteristics associated with biofouling (55 per cent) than any other vector. The second highest association was with ballast water (31 per cent). A similar relative contribution was found in the Australian context through analysis of the NPSD, with biofouling contributing 60 per cent of species association and ballast water 24 per cent

Vectors, shipping and trade

The link between introduction of exotic species into new bioregions and the release of ballast water from shipping is well documented (Smith and Carlton 1975; Carlton 1979; Carlton 1985; Simberloff 1986; Carlton et al. 1995; Ruiz et al. 1997; Shigesada and Kawasaki 1997). Despite the current recognition and acknowledgment of marine introductions via modern vectors, the historic movements of species by vessels may have led to the introduction of species prior to biological surveys

A bay-wide survey for introduced species in Port Phillip Bay, 1995-96

Thirty-three years have passed since the last extensive (benthic and fouling) bay-wide survey of Port Phillip Bay (Port Phillip Bay Environmental Study, Phase One, 1968- 1971) although additional work has been conducted by the Victorian Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute (MAFRI, formerly the Victorian Fisheries Research Institue: VFRI) and the Museum of Victoria (Mo V)

Final Report: CoTS Control Program Independent Review

This Report provides an independent assessment of the CoTS Control Program under the coordination of GBRMPA between 2012/13 – 2018/19, reporting against the Terms of Reference..

Special Invasive Alien Species Issues: Challenges for the marine systems

On a global scale, introduced marine species pose a significant threat to marine environments. Within this paper four challenges to delivery of marine biosecurity outcomes are identified, with a brief discussion on how these challenges are being met within the New Zealand context. Currently within New Zealand, only 3% of the total biosecurity funding is expended on the marine environment. To be effective with such a small component of the total budget, marine biosecurity has directed research into six programmes: 1) risk profiling; 2) compliance monitoring of ballast water exchange; 3) alternative management tools for marine vector threats; 4) baseline information to support border control; 5) surveillance for marine pests; and 6) incursion response options and systems. At present, the marine biosecurity system developed in New Zealand offers a good example of an outcome-oriented system that balances costs and benefits across economic, environmental, social and spiritual values. The short-term costs to establish such a system may be significant however; the long-term benefits far outweigh the initial investment

Revised protocols for baseline port surveys for introduced marine species - Survey design, sampling protocols and specimen handling

A prerequisite for any attempt to control the introduction and spread by shipping of non-indigenous marine pest species in Australian waters is knowledge of the current distribution and abundance of introduced species in Australian ports. This information base is lacking for a majority of Australian ports. The Australian Ballast Water Management Advisory Council (ABWMAC), the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management (SCARM), and the Australia and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) State of the Environment (SoE) Reporting Task Force, have all recognised the need for baseline studies to determine the extent to which introduced species have established in Australian waters. In response to these needs, the CSIRO Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Species (CRIMP) and various state agencies have commenced a national port survey program designed to define the occurrence of non-indigenous species in Australian ports. Given the number of agencies and research organisations that will potentially participate in a national port survey program, a high priority was given to developing a standardised set of survey methods that would provide a consistent basis on which to assess the introduced species status of individual ports. Surveys designed to identify all non-indigenous species in a port will inevitably be subject to scientific, logistic and cost constraints that will limit both their taxonomic and spatial scope. Recognition of these constraints led CRIMP to adopt a targeted approach that concentrates on a known group of species and provides a cost-effective collection of baseline data for all ports. While these surveys specifically target designated pest species, they are also designed to determine the distribution and abundance of other introduced species in a port. The surveys will also identify species of uncertain status (cryptogenic, that is not known if they are endemic or introduced) that are abundant in a port and/or are likely to become major pest species. This report reviews the general protocols developed by CRIMP for introduced species port surveys in 1996, and updates and provides evidence to support the recommended methodologies. The survey design and sampling protocols are outlined to encourage the adoption of a broad and consistent approach to the problem. Triggers for post survey monitoring regimes and factors influencing the frequency of resurveying are also discussed

Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the Tasmanian distribution and density of the introduced New Zealand porcelain crab Petrolisthes elongatus

Petrolisthes elongatus (Milne-Edwards, 1837) was first introduced into southern Tasmania in the late 19th century putatively associated with live-oyster transfers from New Zealand. In the last century P. elongatus populations have expanded, inoculating rocky intertidal zones around Tasmania. We initially identified the scope of P. elongatus introduced range around Tasmania by visiting 57 sites to identify presence. Density of P. elongatus and populations of two native grapsid crab species was assessed at 12 sites around Tasmania to identify any biotic resistance. Abiotic factors including substrate availability and preference, and wave stress, were identified at each of the 57 sites. Our results indicate that P. elongatus has successfully invaded a large proportion of the southern and northern coasts of Tasmania, with a small number of sites on the east and none on the west coast supporting P. elongatus populations. Densities were found to be higher in southern Tasmania compared to the eastern and northern coastlines. Petrolisthes elongatus presence was found to be positively correlated with native grapsid crab presence, however, no statistically significant relationship was found between densities at scales of site or quadrat. Abiotic factors have been identified as the primary drivers of Petrolisthes distribution pattern