Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons^™

Transport Of The Harmful Bloom Alga Aureococcus Anophagefferens By Oceangoing Ships And Coastal Boats, Martina A. Doblin, Linda C. Popels, Kathryn J. Coyne, David A. Hutchins, S. Craig Cary, Fred C. Dobbs

OES Faculty Publications

It is well established that cyst-forming phytoplankton species are transported in ships' ballast tanks. However, there is increasing evidence that other phytoplankton species which do not encyst are also capable of surviving ballast transit. These species have alternative modes of nutrition (hetero- or mixotrophy) and/or are able to survive long-term darkness. In our studies of no-ballast-on-board vessels arriving in the Great Lakes, we tested for the presence of the harmful algal bloom species Aureococcus anophagefferens (brown tide) in residual (i.e., unpumpable) ballast water using methods based on the PCR. During 2001, the brown tide organism was detected in 7 of …