Prioritizing management of high-risk routes and ports by vessel type to improve marine biosecurity efforts.

The shipping industry constitutes the main vector of marine bioinvasions. Over 90,000 vessels world-wide create a highly complex shipping network that requires appropriate management tools. Here we characterized a novel vessel category, Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV), in terms of potential contribution to the dispersal of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) in comparison to smaller vessels traveling similar routes.

Environment and shipping drive environmental DNA beta-diversity among commercial ports.

The spread of nonindigenous species by shipping is a large and growing global problem that harms coastal ecosystems and economies and may blur coastal biogeographical patterns. This study coupled eukaryotic environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with dissimilarity regression to test the hypothesis that ship-borne species spread homogenizes port communities. We first collected and metabarcoded water samples from ports in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Integrating invasive species risk assessment into environmental DNA metabarcoding reference libraries.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding has shown promise as a tool for estimating biodiversity and early detection of invasive species. In aquatic systems, advantages of this method include the ability to concurrently monitor biodiversity and detect incipient invasions simply through the collection and analysis of water samples. However, depending on the molecular markers chosen for a given study, reference libraries containing target sequences from present species may limit the usefulness of eDNA metabarcoding.

Ballast water-mediated species spread risk dynamics and policy implications to reduce the invasion risk to the Mediterranean Sea.

This study helps understand the ballast water-mediated species spread risk dynamics in the Mediterranean and examine potential policy options for ballast water management to further reduce species spread risk in the region. Results show that Gibraltar, Suez, and Istanbul remained high-risk ports from 2012 to 2018, and they are hub ports connecting several clusters. We reveal ballast water management implications for both the Mediterranean region and individual hub ports respectively.

Integrated Biological Risk and Cost Model Analysis Supports a Geopolitical Shift in Ballast Water Management.

This work evaluates efficacies of plausible ballast water management strategies and standards by integrating a global species spread risk assessment with a policy cost-effectiveness analysis. Specifically, we consider species spread risks and costs of port- and vessel-based strategies under both current organism concentration standards and stricter standards proposed by California. For each scenario, we estimate species spread risks and patterns using a higher-order analysis of a global ship-borne species spread model and estimate fleet costs for vessel- and barge-based ballast water treatment systems for each standard.

Network analysis of ballast-mediated species transfer reveals important introduction and dispersal patterns in the Arctic.

Rapid climate change has wide-ranging implications for the Arctic region, including sea ice loss, increased geopolitical attention, and expanding economic activity resulting in a dramatic increase in shipping activity. As a result, the risk of harmful non-native marine species being introduced into this critical region will increase unless policy and management steps are implemented in response. Using data about shipping, ecoregions, and environmental conditions, we leverage network analysis and data mining techniques to assess, visualize, and project ballast water-mediated species introductions into the Arctic and dispersal of non-native species within the Arctic.

Higher-order patterns of aquatic species spread through the global shipping network.

The introduction and establishment of nonindigenous species (NIS) through global ship movements poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems and economies. While ballast-vectored invasions have been partly addressed by some national policies and an international agreement regulating the concentrations of organisms in ballast water, biofouling-vectored invasions remain largely unaddressed. Development of additional efficient and cost-effective ship-borne NIS policies requires an accurate estimation of NIS spread risk from both ballast water and biofouling.

An Evaluation of Risperidone Dosing for Pediatric Delirium in Children Less Than or Equal to 2 Years of Age.

Risperidone dosing and safety data are limited in patients ≤2 years of age. To describe the dosing strategies, safety, and tolerability of risperidone in infants ≤2 years of age. An institutional review board-approved retrospective study was conducted in a 24-bed pediatric intensive care unit at an academic medical center in patients ≤2 years of age receiving risperidone for the management of ICU delirium.

Author Correction: Effects of sampling effort on biodiversity patterns estimated from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

eDNA metabarcoding as a new surveillance approach for coastal Arctic biodiversity.

Because significant global changes are currently underway in the Arctic, creating a large-scale standardized database for Arctic marine biodiversity is particularly pressing. This study evaluates the potential of aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to detect Arctic coastal biodiversity changes and characterizes the local spatio-temporal distribution of eDNA in two locations. We extracted and amplified eDNA using two COI primer pairs from ~80 water samples that were collected across two Canadian Arctic ports, Churchill and Iqaluit, based on optimized sampling and preservation methods for remote regions surveys.

Effects of sampling effort on biodiversity patterns estimated from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can greatly enhance our understanding of global biodiversity and our ability to detect rare or cryptic species. However, sampling effort must be considered when interpreting results from these surveys. We explored how sampling effort influenced biodiversity patterns and nonindigenous species (NIS) detection in an eDNA metabarcoding survey of four commercial ports.

Early detection monitoring for aquatic non-indigenous species: Optimizing surveillance, incorporating advanced technologies, and identifying research needs.

Following decades of ecologic and economic impacts from a growing list of nonindigenous and invasive species, government and management entities are committing to systematic early- detection monitoring (EDM). This has reinvigorated investment in the science underpinning such monitoring, as well as the need to convey that science in practical terms to those tasked with EDM implementation. Using the context of nonindigenous species in the North American Great Lakes, this article summarizes the current scientific tools and knowledge - including limitations, research needs, and likely future developments - relevant to various aspects of planning and conducting comprehensive EDM.

Evaluation of Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, Megalopal Settlement and Condition during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

The Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, is a commercially, culturally, and ecologically significant species in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), whose offshore stages were likely impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWH). To test for DWH effects and to better understand the planktonic ecology of this species, we monitored Callinectes spp. megalopal settlement and condition at sites within and outside of the spill extent during and one year after the DWH.

Rapid molecular detection of invasive species in ballast and harbor water by integrating environmental DNA and light transmission spectroscopy.

Invasive species introduced via the ballast water of commercial ships cause enormous environmental and economic damage worldwide. Accurate monitoring for these often microscopic and morphologically indistinguishable species is challenging but critical for mitigating damages. We apply eDNA sampling, which involves the filtering and subsequent DNA extraction of microscopic bits of tissue suspended in water, to ballast and harbor water sampled during a commercial ship's 1400 km voyage through the North American Great Lakes.

Relative effects of environment and direct species interactions on the population growth rate of an exotic ascidian.

The success of exotic species can be influenced by both the abiotic environment and species interactions. Many studies have demonstrated significant effects of either type of factor on aspects of exotic success, but few have considered their relative effects on population growth rate, a more holistic measure of success. To quantify the relative effects of environment and direct competition on an exotic ascidian, Botrylloides violaceus, I manipulated direct contact interactions at four sites with different abiotic environments and tracked individual colonies over 3 years.