High latitudes are at the leading edge of biological invasions, and commercial shipping, a widely available mechanism for transporting non-indigenous species (NIS), presents a multi-faceted and novel risk to port systems experiencing increasing vessel traffic. This study uses vector analysis, a foundational aspect of regional biosecurity evaluation, to explore the relative likelihood of commercial vessels introducing non-indig...

Biological invasions often result from transfers of organisms during trade activities. In coastal ecosystems, commercial ships are a dominant source of species transfers globally, and ships’ ballast water (BW) is a major focus of biosecurity management and policy to reduce invasions. While trade drives shipping patterns, diverse vessel types and behaviors exist such that the quantitative relationship between trade and BW dynam...