Active surveillance

Surveillance which is deliberately carried out, but not targeted towards finding a specific pest

Adult

Sexually mature or fully grown

Ballast water

Water (including sediment that is or has been contained in water) held in tanks and cargo holds of ships to increase stability and manoeuvrability during transit

Biofouling

The accumulation of aquatic organisms (micro-organisms, plants and animals) on surfaces and structures immersed in or exposed to the aquatic environment

Byssate

The ‘strand’ by which bivalves are often attached to the substrate or to objects. A byssal gland located in the foot secretes a fluid protein which passes down a groove along the underside of the foot; the secretion hardens on exposure to sea water

CCIMPE

Consultative Committee on Introduced Marine Pest Emergencies

CRIMP

 The CSIRO Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) conducted baseline surveys, to accredited standards (Hewitt and Martin, 2001), in 10 ports around Australia between 1995 and 1998. A futher 4 ports were surveyed between 1999 and 2000 in conjuction with external agencies. Since the inital CRIMP surveys, a further 24 ports have been surveyed, to the same or slighly amended standards

CSIRO

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Diploid

Having two sets of chromosomes in each nucleus; the condition of cells following fertilisation and before meiosis

Dry ballast 

Rocks, sand, wood and other materials collected from the environment and used in vessels to stabilise the ship during transit

Epifauna

Organism living on the surface of the seabed, attached to submerged objects or aquatic animals or plants

Established marine pest

A pest that, for the foreseeable future, is perpetuated within any area and which it is deemed not feasible to eradicate

Established population

A self-sustaining population of an introduced species

Exotic marine species

Any species not normally considered to occur and that may or may not be present in Australian marine environment

Gamete

A reproductive sex cell; fusion of two haploid gametes produces a diploid zygote

Haploid

Having a single set of chromosomes; the condition of cells following meiosis and before fertilisation

Imposex

is a disorder in sea snails caused by the toxic effects of certain marine pollutants. These pollutants cause female sea snails (marine gastropod molluscs) to develop male sex organs such as a penis and a vas deferens

Inequivalve

Having the valves unequal in size and form, used in reference to bivalves

Infauna

Organism living in the sediments of the ocean floor, river or lake bed

Invasive

Ability of an introduced species to spread across natural or semi-natural habitats by its own means and form dominant populations

Jurisdiction

All the relevant states and territories of Australia

Juvenile

Post larval stage, not sexually mature or fully grown

MAFRI

Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute

MAGNT

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

Marine Pest

Any exotic marine species, that may pose a threat to Australian marine environment or industry, if introduced, established or translocated

Meiosis

Cell division that results in four haploid cells each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell

National System

The National Sysem for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions (National System) provided a standarised surveillance methodology to detect high risk species at priority locations around Australia. The Australian marine pest monitoring manual povides further details on how such surveillance activities were performed

NIMPIS

National Introduced Marine Pest Information System

Passive Surveillance

Refers to observer-initiated notification of the presence of pests or disease, or the use of data collected for another purpose. An expample is a report of an unsual organism by a member of the public

Periostracum

Thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods

Phytoplankton trawl

A trawl using a net towed behind a vessel. Net is commonly 20µm by 300mm

Plankton

Mostly microscopic organisms that, although they may have limited motility and/or buoyancy control, drift at the mercy of winds and currents

Planozygote

A zygote that swims using flagella derived from the gametes that fused to produce the zygote

Prodissoconch

Is an embryonic or larval shell which is present in the larva of a bivalve mollusc (clams, scallops, oysters, etc)

Species 

A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial

Specific surveillance

Surveillance is targeted to a specific pest

Sublittoral

Living, growing, or accumulating near to or just below the shore

Surveillance activity date

The date the surveillance activity that generated the surveillance record was performed, such as the date of observation, detection, inspection or collection of a pest of biosecurity interest, as expressed as a combination of alphanumeric characters

Surveillance inspection method

The type or name of the primary inspection method used to inspect, observe or collect a pest, in order to determine the status. For example: visual – walk, visual – diver, visual – snorkel, crab trap, crab condo, starfish trap, fish trap, phytoplankton trawl, zooplankton trawl, beam trawl, benthic sled, dredge, grab, sediment core, quadrat scrape, settlement plate, baited camera, remote operated vehicle camera

Surveillance inspection unit

The general type of unit which was observed, collected or inspected during the surveillance activity that generated the surveillance record. For example, vessel, hard substrate, soft epifauna, soft infauna, plankton, pelagic

Surveillance target

The organism, usually a pest, which is of interest in a particular biosecurity surveillance activity

Surveillance target detection status

The statement of the presence or absence of the target or suspect organism of biosecurity concern

Surveillance unit identification

The identification of the unit that was observed, collected or inspected during the surveillance activity that generated the surveillance record. For example, Hard substrate: wharf pilings, boat ramp, rock cliff, Soft epifauna: mud, sand seagrass, Sof infauna: mud, sand, seagrass, Plankton: open water, shoreline, Pelagic: open water, shoreline

Synonyms

A scientific name that applies to a taxon that goes by a different scientific name

Unique identifier

An identifier for the surveillance record that is unique to the reporting body, as represented by a code (e.g. LOCATION - YYYY)

Vector

The physical means, agent or mechanism that facilitates the transfer of organisms, or their propagules, from one place to another

Visual - diver

Search performed by scuba diving commonly along a 50m transect with a 1m swath

Visual - snorkel

Search performed by snorkel commonly along a 100m transect with a 1m swath

Visual - walk

Search conducted on the shoreline in the intertidal and supratidal areas. Transects are commonly 300mm long and a 2-3m swath

Zooplankton trawl

A trawl using a net towed behind a vessel. Net is commonly 100µm by 300mm

Zygote

Cell formed by fertilisation event between two gametes