Abstract
Biosecurity measures are commonly used to prevent the introduction of non-native species to natural environments globally, yet the efficacy of practices is rarely tested under operational conditions. A voluntary biosecurity measure was trialled in the Norwegian high Arctic following concern that non-native species might be transferred to the region on the footwear of travellers. Passengers aboard an expedition cruise ship disinfected their footwear with the broad spectrum disinfectant Virkon S prior to and in-between landing at sites around the remote Svalbard archipelago. The authors evaluated the efficacy of simply stepping through a disinfectant foot bath, which is the most common practice of footwear disinfection aboard expedition cruise ships in the Arctic. This was compared to a more time consuming and little-used method involving drying disinfected footwear, as proposed by other studies. The two practices were evaluated by measuring microbial growth on paired footwear samples before and after disinfection under both conditions. Step-through disinfection did not substantially reduce microbial growth on the footwear. Allowing disinfected footwear to dry, however, reduced the microbial burden significantly to lower levels. Thus, the currently adopted procedures used aboard ships are ineffective at removing microbial burden and are only effective when footwear is given more time to dry than currently granted under operational conditions. These findings underscore results from empirical research performed elsewhere and suggest the need to better relay this information to practitioners. It is suggested that footwear should minimally be wiped dry after step-through disinfection as a reasonable compromise between biosecurity and practicability.
Highlights
Increases in trade and tourism have facilitated the spread of non-native species across the globe (Seebens et al 2017)
Biosecurity measures are commonly used to prevent the introduction of non-native species to natural environments globally, yet the efficacy of practices is rarely tested under operational conditions
The voluntary biosecurity measures trialled by Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) in 2012 were undertaken by ships operating around the remote Svalbard archipelago (74–81°N, 10–35°E), approximately 700 km north of mainland Norway (Fig. 1)
Summary
Increases in trade and tourism have facilitated the spread of non-native species across the globe (Seebens et al 2017). Concern exists that disease transmission to and between wildlife populations might occur at high latitudes (Curry et al 2005, Kerry and Riddle 2009), as might the introduction of pathogens (Cowan et al 2011, Hughes et al 2011), invertebrates (Hughes et al 2011) and invasive plants (Chown et al 2012, Ware et al 2012, Alsos et al 2015a) The consequences of such introductions are as yet largely unknown, but are likely to impact on existing community structure and functioning (Litchman 2010) and may cause disease to both fauna and flora (Kerry and Riddle 2009, Hughes et al 2011). Acknowledgement of the serious impacts caused by a proportion of these species and the difficulties associated with their eradication, has spurred the implementation of management interventions designed to prevent biological introductions
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