Bacterial pathogens in Hawaiian coastal streams—Associations with fecal indicators, land cover, and water quality

Viau, Emily; Goodwin, Kelly D.; Yamahara, Kevan M.; Layton, Blythe A.; Sassoubre, Lauren M.; Burns, Siobhan; Tong, Hsin-I; Wong, SK; Lu, Yuanan; Boehm, Alexandria B.

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2011.03.033

Cited by 127 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…A field study conducted in tidally influenced Hawaiian streams (salinity range of 0.60‰ to 37.3‰) found a negative relationship between concentrations of enterococci and physicochemical water parameters (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen content) (344). Similar findings were reported for coastal Mississippi waters (salinity range of 0.00‰ to 26.4‰) and a salt marsh in California (salinity range of 29.4‰ to 30.5‰) (53,94).…”

Section: Responses To Environmental Stressorssupporting

confidence: 52%

“…Many field (53,94,344) and mesocosm (10,75,187,308) studies reported an inverse relationship between salinity and the detection/survival of enterococci ( Table 2). A field study conducted in tidally influenced Hawaiian streams (salinity range of 0.60‰ to 37.3‰) found a negative relationship between concentrations of enterococci and physicochemical water parameters (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen content) (344).…”

Section: Responses To Environmental Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enterococci in the Environment

Byappanahalli

Nevers

Korajkic

et al. 2012

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

564

383

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SUMMARYEnterococci are common, commensal members of gut communities in mammals and birds, yet they are also opportunistic pathogens that cause millions of human and animal infections annually. Because they are shed in human and animal feces, are readily culturable, and predict human health risks from exposure to polluted recreational waters, they are used as surrogates for waterborne pathogens and as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in research and in water quality testing throughout the world. Evidence from several decades of research demonstrates, however, that enterococci may be present in high densities in the absence of obvious fecal sources and that environmental reservoirs of these FIB are important sources and sinks, with the potential to impact water quality. This review focuses on the distribution and microbial ecology of enterococci in environmental (secondary) habitats, including the effect of environmental stressors; an outline of their known and apparent sources, sinks, and fluxes; and an overview of the use of enterococci as FIB. Finally, the significance of emerging methodologies, such as microbial source tracking (MST) and empirical predictive models, as tools in water quality monitoring is addressed. The mounting evidence for widespread extraenteric sources and reservoirs of enterococci demonstrates the versatility of the genusEnterococcusand argues for the necessity of a better understanding of their ecology in natural environments, as well as their roles as opportunistic pathogens and indicators of human pathogens.

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Section: Responses To Environmental Stressorssupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Responses To Environmental Stressorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enterococci in the Environment

Byappanahalli

Nevers

Korajkic

et al. 2012

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

564

383

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“…Our previous work on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated that environmental perturbation, in that case petroleum contamination, can alter the structure and function of microbial communities in beach sand, which we characterized using next-generation sequencing technologies (15). The relationship between water quality and land use types has also been well documented (40)(41)(42)(43)(44). Likewise, perturbations resulting from urbanization may also be reflected in sand communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Influence of Land Use, Nutrients, and Geography on Microbial Communities and Fecal Indicator Abundance at Lake Michigan Beaches

Cloutier

Alm

McLellan

2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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bMicrobial communities within beach sand play a key role in nutrient cycling and are important to the nearshore ecosystem function. Escherichia coli and enterococci, two common indicators of fecal pollution, have been shown to persist in the beach sand, but little is known about how microbial community assemblages are related to these fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) reservoirs. We examined eight beaches across a geographic gradient and range of land use types and characterized the indigenous community structure in the water and the backshore, berm, and submerged sands. FIB were found at similar levels in sand at beaches adjacent to urban, forested, and agricultural land and in both the berm and backshore. However, there were striking differences in the berm and backshore microbial communities, even within the same beach, reflecting the very different environmental conditions in these beach zones in which FIB can survive. In contrast, the microbial communities in a particular beach zone were similar among beaches, including at beaches on opposite shores of Lake Michigan. The differences in the microbial communities that did exist within a beach zone correlated to nutrient levels, which varied among geographic locations. Total organic carbon and total phosphorus were higher in Wisconsin beach sand than in beach sand from Michigan. Within predominate genera, finescale sequence differences could be found that distinguished the populations from the two states, suggesting a biogeographic effect. This work demonstrates that microbial communities are reflective of environmental conditions at freshwater beaches and are able to provide useful information regarding long-term anthropogenic stress. Since the creation of the Federal Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000, coastal communities have been challenged with implementing programs for the monitoring of recreational waters. Water quality monitoring relies on fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as Escherichia coli and enterococci, and the assumption that both are fecal in origin. In recent years, many Great Lakes coastal recreational waters were monitored for the first time and subsequently were found to have unacceptable levels of E. coli, indicating the presence of contamination from sources such as sewage, stormwater, or agricultural runoff. However, recent studies have detected high concentrations of FIB in recreational beach sands compared to the concentrations in the nearby monitored waters (1-4). Importantly, several studies have documented that sand reservoirs of FIB play a large role in beach water samples exceeding regulatory limits (1, 3, 5-7).Persistent FIB in the beach environment is of great concern. The presence of FIB in either recreational waters or sand is assumed to indicate a recent pollution event. However, the persistence and possible proliferation of FIB in the beach environment can confound beach-monitoring efforts and poses additional challenges for beach managers. In addition, there is mounting evidence that E. co...

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“…For instance, bacterial indicators were found to survive longer and even to multiply in tropical environmental waters (2). In addition to temperature, other environmental factors, such as turbidity and nutrients, have been shown to significantly impact correlation studies (10). The studies cited above focused on only a limited number of indicators and pathogens, making cross comparisons between various studies difficult.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Fecal Indicators and Their Empirical Relationships with Enteric Viruses, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Surface Waters of a Tropical Urban Catchment

Liang

Goh

Vergara

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The suitability of traditional microbial indicators (i.e., Escherichia coli and enterococci) has been challenged due to the lack of correlation with pathogens and evidence of possible regrowth in the natural environment. In this study, the relationships between alternative microbial indicators of potential human fecal contamination (Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Methanobrevibacter smithii, human polyomaviruses [HPyVs], and F؉ and somatic coliphages) and pathogens (Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, rotavirus, astrovirus, norovirus GI, norovirus GII, and adenovirus) were compared with those of traditional microbial indicators, as well as environmental parameters (temperature, conductivity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, total organic carbon, total suspended solids, turbidity, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus). Water samples were collected from surface waters of urban catchments in Singapore. Salmonella and P. aeruginosa had significant positive correlations with most of the microbial indicators, especially E. coli and enterococci. Norovirus GII showed moderately strong positive correlations with most of the microbial indicators, except for HPyVs and coliphages. In general, high geometric means and significant correlations between human-specific markers and pathogens suggest the possibility of sewage contamination in some areas. The simultaneous detection of human-specific markers (i.e., B. thetaiotaomicron, M. smithii, and HPyVs) with E. coli and enterococcus supports the likelihood of recent fecal contamination, since the human-specific markers are unable to regrow in natural surface waters. Multiple-linear-regression results further confirm that the inclusion of M. smithii and HPyVs, together with traditional indicators, would better predict the occurrence of pathogens. Further study is needed to determine the applicability of such models to different geographical locations and environmental conditions. Indicator bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and enterococci (ENT), have been used extensively in past decades to indicate the presence of human enteric pathogens because of the great diversity of pathogens, the large volumes required, and the difficulty in concentrating the typically low concentrations of pathogens from water samples. In Singapore, microbial water quality guidelines for recreational freshwater currently target enterococci (less than 200 counts per 100 ml for 95% of the time).Despite the wide use of fecal indicator bacteria in microbial water quality monitoring, their suitability to represent a level of health risk is still being questioned. One of the reasons is the lack of data correlating the presence and concentrations of the indicators with the presence of disease-associated pathogens. With improvements in microbiological test methods and bacterial species identification, there is growing evidence that fecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli and ENT, do not necessarily correlate well with some of the enteric pathogens, particularly viruses (1). There is also evidence that E. ...

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Bacterial pathogens in Hawaiian coastal streams—Associations with fecal indicators, land cover, and water quality

Cited by 127 publications

References 38 publications

Enterococci in the Environment

Enterococci in the Environment

Influence of Land Use, Nutrients, and Geography on Microbial Communities and Fecal Indicator Abundance at Lake Michigan Beaches

Alternative Fecal Indicators and Their Empirical Relationships with Enteric Viruses, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Surface Waters of a Tropical Urban Catchment

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