title: Quantifying indicatively living phytoplankton cells in ballast water samples--recommendations for Port State Control.
abstract: Different phytoplankton analysis methods (pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometry (PAM) and microscopy) were compared in preparation for compliance monitoring and enforcement with ballast water discharge standards. The key objective was to practically evaluate the performance of different new methods and tools to identify indicatively living phytoplankton cells of the size <50 μm in minimum dimension and ≥ 10 μm in minimum dimension as addressed by the Ballast Water Performance Standard (Regulation D-2, International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004). Four different PAM instruments were selected for the tests based upon knowledge and experience gained in different ballast water sample processing studies. The measurements of the PAM instruments were compared with epifluorescence microscope algae cell counts using fluorescein diacetate as viability stain. It was concluded that PAM fluorometry is a suitable method for indicative phytoplankton analysis of ballast water and the most accurate PAM instruments were identified.
authors.affiliation: Gollasch Consulting, Grosse Brunnenstrasse 61, 22763 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: sgollasch@aol.com.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gollasch
authors.affiliation: Dr. Matej David Consult d.o.o., Korte 13 e, 6310 Izola, Slovenia. Electronic address: matej.david@siol.net.
authors.forename: Matej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: David
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, Fornace 41, 6330 Piran, Slovenia. Electronic address: Janja.France@mbss.org.
authors.forename: Janja
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Francé
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Biology, Marine Biology Station, Fornace 41, 6330 Piran, Slovenia. Electronic address: Patricija.Mozetic@mbss.org.
authors.forename: Patricija
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mozetič
mesh_terms: D004396:Coloring Agents; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005452:Fluoresceins; D005470:Fluorometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008386:Marine Biology / Q000379:methods*; D010839:Phytoplankton; D012767:Ships; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D005452:Fluoresceins; C018506:diacetylfluorescein
keywords: Ballast water discharge standards; Compliance monitoring and enforcement; Epifluorescence microscopy; Indicative analysis; Phytoplankton; Pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometry