MICROBIAL INDICATORS AND PHYTOPLANKTON AND BACTERIAL

0,71

MB

COMMUNITIES AS EVIDENCE OF CONTAMINATION CAUSED BY

100

stron

CHANGING LAND USE PATTERNS

5496

ID

University of South Carolina

2002

rok

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 5

I. OBJECTIVES OF THIS REPORT .. 7

II. STATE OF KNOWLEDGE OF MICROBIAL (BACTERIAL AND PHYTOPLANKTON)

COMMUNITIES AS INDICATORS OF LAND USE . 7

A. Microbial Indicators Of Specific Types Of Contamination 8

1. Indicators of Human Contamination . 8

a. Total and Fecal Coliform Bacteria . 8

i. Background 8

ii. The Coliform Bacteria . 9

i. Coliform Bacteria As An Indicator of Water Quality In Shellfish Harvesting Areas 10

ii. Fecal Coliform Bacterial Densities In South Carolina and Georgia 11

v. Water Quality In Estuarine Shellfish Harvesting Areas . 14

i. Utility Of Fecal Coliform Bacterial Indicator In Evaluating Estuarine Water Quality In Shellfish

Harvesting Waters .. 18

ii. Studies of Fecal Coliform Pollution In Shellfish Harvesting Waters Of South Carolina And

Georgia 19

i. Differentiation of E. coli from Human and Animal Sources . 19

a. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis

(b) Ribotyping

a. Fatty Acid Profiling

b. Multiple Antibiotic Resistance

b. Alternative Bacterial Indicators of Human Contamination 22

i. Background .. 22

ii. Types of Environmental Impact . 22

iii. Sources of Contamination . 23

a. Human vs. Non-Human Waste Inputs

b. Point vs Non-Point Sources

iv. Alternative Bacterial Species or Groups 23

(a) Clostridium perfringens

(b) Fecal Streptococci and Enterococci

(c) Streptococcus bovis

(d) Bifidobacteria

(e) Bacteriophages

a. Other Indicators of Fecal Pollution

a. Biochemical Markers of Human Contamination 28

i. i. Coprostanol .. 29

ii. Optical Brighteners . 29

a. Intervention Analysis . 30

1. Indicators of Eutrophication . 31

a. Total Heterotrophic Bacteria 31

1. Indicators of Toxic Contaminants and Their Relationship With Land Use . 32

a. Background .. 32

a. Studies on Distribution of Toxic Contaminants in South Carolina Coastal Regions .. 33

i. Urbanization of Southeastern Estuarine Systems (USES) Study .. 34

ii. South Carolina Tidal Creek Project (TCP) 35

(a) Study Approach

(b) Trace Contaminant Methodology

(c) Results and Interpretation

iii. Pollution History of the Savannah Estuary 37

(a) Sampling Effort and Methodology

(b) Results and Interpretation

iv. Turtle/Brunswick River Estuary, Georgia .. 38

v. Other Studies 39

vi. Conclusions/Recommendations .. 39

c. Microbial Indicators of Toxic Contaminants 40

i. Bacterial Luminescence . 40

ii. Specific Indigenous Bacterial Species As Alternate Indicators . 41

(a) Pseudomonas species

(b) Acinetobacter

(c) Other species

4. Use of Specific Organisms as Indicators of Land Use: Summary 43

A. Community Composition as an Indicator of Impacts on Ecosystem Processes 44

1. Phytoplankton . 44

a. Background . 44

b. Phytoplankton Data from the LU-CES Study Area 46

c. Potential Anthropogenic Impacts. 50

d. Recommendations .. 52

2. Microbial Communities .. 52

a . DNA- and RNA-Based Analysis of Specific Organisms .. 52

b. Analysis of Communities . 55

c. Phenotypic Characteristics as a Basis for Analysis .. 58

i. Biolog 58

ii. Phospholipid Ester-Linked Fatty Acids 58

iii. Computer Analysis of Complex Community Data 59

d. Conclusions and Recommendations . 60

III. IDENTIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO USE MICROBIAL INDICATOR DATA . . ..

60

IV. IDENTIFICATION OF MECHANISMS FOR UTILIZING NEW MICROBIAL INDICATORS IN

MONITORING STUDIES . 60

V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 61

VI. REFERENCES ... 64