Ballast water monitoring in cargo vessels in Taranto Harbour (Ionian Sea)

In order to study the possibility of introduction of non indigenous planktonic species, water and sediment samples were collected from the ballast tanks of 19 cargo vessels which arrived in Taranto between July 2003 and December 2004. A total of 48 phytoplanktonic species were recorded in the water and 51 different morphotypes of resting stages were identified in the sediments. Among the species recorded, 4 diatoms (active stages) and 3 dinoflagellates (cysts) have not previously been reported from the Ionian Sea.