Molecular tools for implementing international ballast water regulations – insights and reflections from a cross-latitudinal en-route study

In this study we performed concurrent measurements of adenosine triphosphate and metabarcoding of environmental nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) during a 3-week cross-latitudinal vessel transit, collecting triplicate ballast water samples every second day. The results obtained from different methods provided complementary information, allowing more comprehensive inferences on biological activity than could be derived from each method separately.