Study of shipping routes maps delivery of invasive organisms

When giant container ships sail into major ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach, it's not just clothing and cars that they deliver. They also carry critters.

The specimens — microscopic algae cells or larger castaways, such as eggs of fish or crustaceans — float about in the thousands of tons of water the boats use as ballast. When the ships dump their ballast at port, the species can establish a foothold in foreign lands, often with detrimental consequences to native wildlife http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-invasive-species-ships-20130505,0,4077154.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Eryn Brown