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Because Of Bilge water and Invasive species, the natives of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers are slowly losing their territory which can lead to the decrease of the native species in their land.

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a bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship, below the waterline, where the two sides meet at the keel.

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Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into the bilge. The collected water must be pumped out to prevent the bilge from becoming too full and threatening to sink the ship.

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3. What are the contents of bilge water?

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3. What are the contents of bilge water?

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water, oil, urine, detergents, solvents, chemicals, pitch particles, and other materials like marine life DNA.

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In this image bilge water can be seen leaving a small tube at the side of this boat into the body of water.

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Generally it is an issue anywhere there are large bodies of water and ships. But my focus is the Illinois and Mississippi River  connected to the Great Lakes

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is defined as a species that is: 1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and. 2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.

https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml

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The great lakes has been severely damaged by 180 invasive and non-native species. Including round Goby, Sea Lamprey, Asian Carp, Eurasian Ruffe and so on.

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At first glance it may seem that ship bilge water and invasive species have little to no connection but looking further into the issue they both go hand in hand.

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As an example I will be focusing on one invasive species in our very location, the Asian Carp in the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.

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The common carp or European carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.

life span -  20 years
mass - 4.4 – 31 lbs

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11. Human Activities - How human activity caused and adds to the problem 

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11. Human Activities - How human activity caused and adds to the problem 

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The Asian Carp were originally imported from Southeast Asia to the southern United States to help aquaculture and wastewater treatment facilities keep retention ponds clean.

http://www.asiancarp.us/faq.htm

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Effects on the biodiveristy and ecosystem

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Effects on the biodiveristy and ecosystem

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The invasive species cause issues for the natives of that area, the diet of the invasive species overlaps with the diet of the native species in which can cause issues with food supply which causes the native species to die out lessening the biodiversity.

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Flooding allowed for them to escape in the Illinois and Missouri rivers and since they are both connected it allowed them to swim freely in between, as well as the Illinois river being connected to the Great Lakes.

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eDNA was developed to help monitor invasive species since all fish release DNA into the environment. And the potential presence of the species can be detected by measuring the DNA samples in the water.

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14. What does this have to do with ship bilge?

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14. What does this have to do with ship bilge?

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Although eDNA tests are being done it is not always accurate, for example the test may say positive but the DNA could have come from other sources such as bilge water. It is a small connection but has a big outcome.

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In the two graphs above you can see that there is a significant increase in the number of Asian carp caught which shows that the number of Asian carp is overpowers the numbers being caught. In both areas the numbers went significantly high. Which displays the extent of the problem.

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16. Solution 1 - How can humans minimize or reverse the issue

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16. Solution 1 - How can humans minimize or reverse the issue

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Currently there are already rules as to ship bilge water management. And as for dealing with invasive species currently there are many actions being taken to prevent further invasive spread.

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One of the ways to prevent invading is the shock treatment (also called Fish Fry). The Shock Treatment is a system where a high voltage- powerful enough to stop the human heart, acts as a third barrier meant to provide redundancy. "Equipment in the control station produces a direct current that is delivered, in 4 millisecond pulses, through the electrodes, creating an electrical field in the water sufficiently uncomfortable for Asian carp."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a6233/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion/

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the Illinois DNR and USFWS teamed up to inundate a 2.5-mile stretch of the river with Rotenone, a highly toxic botanic pesticide commonly used by U.S. wildlife and water management authorities for fish eradications. Rotenone works by entering the fish's bloodstream via the gills and hampering cellular respiration.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a6233/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion/

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Army Corps of Engineers is building a $13.2 million blockade between the waterways. Ranging in height from 4 to 6 feet, it will stretch 13 miles and consist primarily of concrete jersey barriers and chain-link fencing. Construction is underway and should be completed later this month.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a6233/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion/