Could the Global Economic Crisis Result in More Invasive Species?
Katherinev123 — October 29, 2009 — Eco
References: niwa.co.nz & dsc.discovery
A new study has revealed that the global economic recession could proliferate the spread of invasive species. The term 'invasive species' refers to foreign species that adversely affect the habitats they invade, particularly arising from international ships that carry barnacles and sea creatures into domestic water bodies.
According to Oliver Floerl of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a large ship could have up to 80 tons of ‘biofouling’ accumulated on its hull. Since biofouling can costs thousands in reduced fuel efficiency—not good in this economy—operators want to clean up the mess as quickly as they can, which stands to potentially “dump a mess of foreign species onto the sea floor,” says Discovery News.
According to Oliver Floerl of New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a large ship could have up to 80 tons of ‘biofouling’ accumulated on its hull. Since biofouling can costs thousands in reduced fuel efficiency—not good in this economy—operators want to clean up the mess as quickly as they can, which stands to potentially “dump a mess of foreign species onto the sea floor,” says Discovery News.
Trend Themes
1. Global Economic Recession - The global economic recession is creating opportunities for the spread of invasive species, as cleaning up biofouling from ships becomes a priority.
2. Invasive Species Spread - The spread of invasive species is exacerbated by the economic crisis, as ships attempt to quickly clean up biofouling, potentially introducing foreign species into new habitats.
3. Biofouling Removal - The need for efficient biofouling removal presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the shipping industry to prevent the inadvertent spread of invasive species.
Industry Implications
1. Shipping Industry - The shipping industry has an opportunity for disruptive innovation in developing more efficient and environmentally-friendly methods to deal with biofouling on hulls.
2. Environmental Management Industry - The environmental management industry can take advantage of the economic crisis by providing services for the prevention and control of invasive species spread caused by biofouling removal efforts.
3. Marine Technology Industry - The marine technology industry can explore disruptive innovation strategies to develop advanced tools and techniques for biofouling detection and removal on ships, reducing the risk of introducing invasive species.
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