Investigation of Structure and abundance of zooplankton by ballast water of ships entering the Bushehr port

Non-native species could threaten biodiversity, marine industries, and human health. In this research, ballast water sampling of 10 ships berthing at the port of Bushehr was carried out according to resolution MEPC 173 (58) in hot and cool season. Zooplankton samples were collected from ballast tanks using a pump. Zooplankton species were from 7 phylum, 11 classes, 15 orders, 33 families, 38 genera and 48 species. Arthropoda comprises 57.25% of the species (the highest density) with 23 families and 38 species and Chordata with two families and two species, 1.52% of species (the lowest density). The highest and lowest densities of the species were observed among leprotintinnus bubiyanicus of the Tintinnidae (12.98%) and the Oikopleura dioica of the Oikopleuridae (0.25%), respectively. According to the species identified in this study, no species was identified as invasive. Therefore, it can be said that changing ships’ ballast water in the oceans can be an appropriate strategy to alleviate the risk of transferring the non-native species to the Bushehr Port.