Monday, June 17, 2002

Ballast Baddies

Back in January, the National Geographic News posted this story about the indirect benefits of a new method of preventing rust in ballast tanks. The ballast tanks of ships, filled with water and/or soil to provide balance, have been traced to the accidental introduction of many non-native species, including such invasives as the Zebra mussel. Now scientists have found that removing the oxygen from ballast water not only helps prevent the tanks from corroding, but also kills a large percentage of some non-native invertebrates. Results of the research were published in the January 2002 issue of the journal Biological Conservation.

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