AIS and Treatment Technology Databases and Research Centers

AIS and Ballast Water Treatment Technology Databases
The following online databases may be used to access up-to-date information and research on invasive species, AIS in particular, and ballast water.

AIRD - The Aquatic Invasions Research Directory (AIRD) is an Internet-based, searchable database containing up to the minute information on people, research, technology, policy and management issues relevant to aquatic invasions. The scope of the Directory falls into the following broad areas: aquatic invasions; ballast water; prevention and treatment technologies; and policy and management.

Ballast Water Technology Treatment Vendors - List of U.S. and international vendors engaged in ballast water treatment technology development (developed by NEMW Institute)

Ballast Water Technology Projects Funded by NOAA and FWS - A list of projects funded from 1998-2002 by NOAA and FWS under the NOAA/FWS Ballast Water Technology Demonstration Program and by the NOAA Sea Grant ANS Research and Outreach Program.

Ballast Water Treatment R&D Directory - Searchable database including information on specific ballast water treatment technology projects. Search database by project name, treatment option, researchers, location of research and/or host institution. Hosted by the Global Ballast Water Management Programme (GloBallast) this directory lists research and development projects that are focused specifically on the physical, mechanical or chemical treatment of ballast water to prevent/reduce the transfer of aquatic organisms.

CANOD - The California Aquatic Non-Native Organism Database (CANOD) was developed by California Department of Fish and Game. The database contains every known marine and estuarine aquatic non-native speices on hte California coast. Includes information about the pathway of introduction (e.g. ballast water, intentional introduction), date of introduction, locations observed, native region of each species and other associated data.

Global Invasive Species Database - Developed by the IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) as part of the global initiative on invasive species led by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP). It provides global information on invasive species to agencies, resource managers, descision-makers, and interested individuals. The database focuses on invasive species that threaten biodiversity and covers all taxonomic groups from micro-organisms to animals and plants.

Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Research Inventory (GLSLRI) - An interactive, internet-based, searchable database created as a tool to collect and disseminate up-to-date information about research projects in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Region.

NBIC - The National Ballast Information Clearinghouse (NBIC) is a joint program of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and the United States Coast Guard that collects, analyzes, and interprets data on the ballast water management practices of commercial ships that operate in U.S. waters. The principal aims of NBIC are to quantify the amounts and origins of ballast water discharged in US coastal systems and to determine the degree to which such water has undergone open-ocean exchange or alternative treatments designed to reduce the likelikhood of ballast-mediated invasions by exotic species. Ballast water data are available for download.

NEMESIS - The National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System (NEMESIS) is national database of marine and estuarine invasions of the continental U.S. and Alaska. This database compiles detailed information on approximately 500 different non-native species of plants, fish, invertebrates, protists and algae. The database identified which species have been reported, their current populations status, as well as when, where, and how they invaded; it also summarized key information on the biology, ecology, and known impacts of each invader.

National Introduced Marine Pest Information System (NIMPIS)
This website links to a database on over 80 of the known introduced species in Australian waters, and some information on species yet to be found here. NIMPIS also provides an online, convenient mechanism for members of the public or marine stakeholders to report unusual occurrences.

NISbase - The International Nonindigenous Species Database Network functions as a search engine for databases on all forms of invasive species research, issues, management, policy...A good way to produce queries on multiple systems and species at once.

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database - Hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, this site has been established as a central repository for accurate and spatially referenced biogeographic accounts of nonindigenous aquatic speices. Provided are scientific reports, online/realtime queries, spatial data sets, regional contact lists, and general information.

Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council: Bibliographic Database - Contains reports on ballast water treatment technologies as well as on specific invasive species. Search database by author, report, title, port, technology and/or species.

Sea Grant National Aquatic Nuisance Species Clearinghouse - An international library of research, public policy, and outreach education publications pertaining to invasive marine and fresh-water aquatic nuisance species in North America. It is the home of North America's most extensive library of publications related to the spread, biology, impacts and control of zebra mussels.

Sea Grant Nonindigenous Species Site (SGNIS) - A national information center that contains a comprehensive collection of research publications and education materials produced by Sea Grant programs and other research institutions across the country on zebra mussels and other aquatic nuisance species.

AIS Research Centers
Many academic, government, and private companies and organizations are involved in research on the ecology, impacts and economics of invasive species in general and ballast mediated invasions in particular. The list below is a sampling of current research labs and centers in the United States and abroad.

Aquatic Bioinvasions Research and Policy Institute - A joint initiative between Portland State University (PSU) and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Its primary goal is to advance an array of collaborative and coordinated research, education and outreach activities that focus on the biological aspects of invasions in aquatic (marine and freshwater) ecosystems. Senior Scientists: Dr. Mark Sytsma (PSU) and Dr. Gregory M. Ruiz (SERC).

Dr. James T. Carlton, Williams College - Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program - Interests include world-wide biological invasions of non-native species in coastal environments and modern-day extinctions of marine organisms in sensitive marine and estuarine habitats.

Cawthron Institute Marine Bioinvasions Programme (New Zealand) - The Marine Invaders Programme provides a risk assessment and management model for research into the transport, establishment, impact, and management of exotic species. Senior Scientist: Dr. Mike Taylor.

CSIRO Research - Introduced Marine Pests (Australia) - Works to develop and promote the application of techniques for earlier detection, more accurate prediction of impacts, and effective assessment of risks and costs associated with marine pest species introduced into Australian marine ecosystems, especially South East Australia, and to develop new methods or improve existing measures to control the introduction and spread, and minimise the impacts of exotic marine pest species.

Dr. Fred Dobbs, Old Dominion University - Interests include the ecology of microorganisms in ships' ballast water.

Marine Invasions Research Lab - A national and international center for research on biological invasions in coastal marine ecosystems. Located at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC). Senior Scientist: Dr. Gregory M. Ruiz.

NOAA National Center for Research on Aquatic Invasive Species - NOAA established this lab, housed at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to assure cross-NOAA leadership, communication, and coordination for NOAA's research investments in support of understanding, preventing, responding to, and managing aquatic species invasions in U.S. coastal ecosystems. Senior Scientist: Dr. David Reid.

San Francisco Estuary Institute Biological Invasions Program - SFEI's Biological Invasions program conducts scientific and policy research and provides information and analyses on the introduction of exotic organisms into marine and freshwater ecosystems. Senior Scientist: Dr. Andrew N. Cohen.

UC Davis Biological Invasions (BioInv) IGERT Program - A National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. The BioInv IGERT at UC Davis takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study and management of invasive species. The program covers research on both terrestrial and marine invasive species.

Treatment Technology R&D Centers

Great Ships Initiative
The Great Ships Initiative (GSI) is a collaborative effort to end the problem of ship-mediated invasive species in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System through independent research and demonstration of environmental technology, financial incentives and consistent basin-wide harbor monitoring. In particular, the GSI has established a Research, Development and Technology Evaluation (RDTE) facility in Superior, Wisconsin to provide intensive testing services to vendors of ballast treatment prospects suitable to Seaway-sized vessels.

Naval Research Lab, Key West - The Naval Research Lab (NRL), partnered with the United State Coast Guard, designed, constructed and operates a prototype Ballast Water Treatment System Test Facility as specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program. The NRL follows ETV Protocol for the Verification of Ballast Water Treatment Technologies.