Gulls identified as major source of fecal pollution in coastal waters: A microbial source tracking study

Araújo, Susana; Henriques, Isabel; Leandro, Sérgio; Alves, Artur; Pereira, Anabela; Correia, António

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.075

Cited by 52 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Evidence of gull contamination in water was widespread at all beaches, consistent with previous reports in marine regions (31,40), with the Gull2 marker detected in 83% of samples with high E. coli levels and 82% of samples with low E. coli levels. Traditional FIB concentrations in gull feces have been reported to be highly varied, with concentrations of E. coli and enterococci reported to range between 10 2 and 10 8 CFU/g (41) and between 10 2 and 10 10 CFU/g (42-44), respectively.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Our lab has developed a qPCR assay that targets the second most abundant humanassociated Lachnospiraceae (Lachno2) in sewage (26) and has been used to track sewage contamination in environmental waters (27). Gull-associated qPCR assays targeting Catellicoccus marimammalium have also been developed (28)(29)(30), and field studies have demonstrated that gulls are a common source of degraded water quality at marine and freshwater recreational beaches (31).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Distribution and Differential Survival of Traditional and Alternative Indicators of Fecal Pollution at Freshwater Beaches

Cloutier

McLellan

2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Alternative indicators have been developed that can be used to identify host sources of fecal pollution, yet little is known about how their distribution and fate compare to traditional indicators. Escherichia coli and enterococci were widely distributed at the six beaches studied and were detected in almost 95% of water samples (n ϭ 422) and 100% of sand samples (n ϭ 400). Berm sand contained the largest amount of E. coli (P Ͻ 0.01), whereas levels of enterococci were highest in the backshore (P Ͻ 0.01). E. coli and enterococci were the lowest in water, using a weight-to-volume comparison. The gull-associated Catellicoccus marimammalium (Gull2) marker was found in over 80% of water samples, regardless of E. coli levels, and in 25% of sand samples. Human-associated Bacteroides (HB) and Lachnospiraceae (Lachno2) were detected in only 2.4% of water samples collected under baseflow and post-rain conditions but produced a robust signal after a combined sewage overflow, despite low E. coli concentrations. Burdens of E. coli and enterococci in water and sand were disproportionately high in relation to alternative indicators when comparing environmental samples to source material. In microcosm studies, Gull2, HB, and Lachno2 quantitative PCR (qPCR) signals were reduced twice as quickly as those from E. coli and enterococci and approximately 20% faster than signals from culturable E. coli. High concentrations of alternative indicators in source material illustrated their high sensitivity for the identification of fecal sources; however, differential survival and the potential for long-term persistence of traditional fecal indicators complicate the use of alternative indicator data to account for the levels of E. coli and enterococci in environmental samples. IMPORTANCE E. coli and enterococci are general indicators of fecal pollution and may persist in beach sand, making their use problematic for many applications. This study demonstrates that gull fecal pollution is widespread at Great Lakes beaches, whereas human and ruminant contamination is evident only after major rain events. An exploration of sand as a reservoir for indicators found that E. coli was ubiquitous, while gull host markers were detected in only 25% of samples. In situ sand beach microcosms provided decay rate constants for E. coli and enterococci relative to alternative indicators, which establish comparative benchmarks that would be helpful to distinguish recent from past pollution. Overall, alternative indicators are useful for identifying sources and assessing potentially high health risk contamination events; however, beach managers should be cautious in attempting to directly link their detection to the levels of E. coli or enterococci.KEYWORDS beaches, water quality, human-associated indicators, gull-associated indicators, qPCR F ecal contamination of recreational waters can be a serious threat to public health. Due to the vast diversity of fecal-borne human pathogens, the USEPA has recommended the use of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB),...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Differential Survival of Traditional and Alternative Indicators of Fecal Pollution at Freshwater Beaches

Cloutier

McLellan

2017

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Elevated FIB from non-point sources in waterways include in-stream sediment reservoirs (indicating past faecal events) from which FIB may be resuspended during flood conditions (Muirhead et al 2004) and to a lesser extent during base flow conditions (Yakirevich et al 2013). In addition, avian and wildlife faecal pollution has been shown to make a contribution to FIB in water bodies (Araujo et al 2014;Devane et al 2013). E. coli levels of 10 5 -10 9 colony forming units (CFU)/g and enterococci 10 4 -10 8 CFU/g have been identified in gull faeces (Fogarty et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying avian sources of faecal contamination using sterol analysis

Devane

Wood

Chappell

et al. 2015

Environ Monit Assess

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Discrimination of the source of faecal pollution in water bodies is an important step in the assessment and mitigation of public health risk. One tool for faecal source tracking is the analysis of faecal sterols which are present in faeces of animals in a range of distinctive ratios. Published ratios are able to discriminate between human and herbivore mammal faecal inputs but are of less value for identifying pollution from wildfowl, which can be a common cause of elevated bacterial indicators in rivers and streams. In this study, the sterol profiles of 50 avian-derived faecal specimens (seagulls, ducks and chickens) were examined alongside those of 57 ruminant faeces and previously published sterol profiles of human wastewater, chicken effluent and animal meatwork effluent. Two novel sterol ratios were identified as specific to avian faecal scats, which, when incorporated into a decision tree with human and herbivore mammal indicative ratios, were able to identify sterols from avian-polluted waterways. For samples where the sterol profile was not consistent with herbivore mammal or human pollution, avian pollution is indicated when the ratio of 24-ethylcholestanol/(24-ethylcholestanol + 24-ethylcoprostanol + 24-ethylepicoprostanol) is ≥0.4 (avian ratio 1) and the ratio of cholestanol/(cholestanol + coprostanol + epicoprostanol) is ≥0.5 (avian ratio 2). When avian pollution is indicated, further confirmation by targeted PCR specific markers can be employed if greater confidence in the pollution source is required. A 66% concordance between sterol ratios and current avian PCR markers was achieved when 56 water samples from polluted waterways were analysed.

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“…Bird droppings-a common endogenous source of bacteria should also be considered (e.g., [17]). Indeed, the removal of birds, such as gulls, may dramatically improve the water quality of ocean beaches [18].…”

Section: Bathing Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Estuarine Beaches and Urban Water Cycle Seepage: The Influence of Temporal Scales

Costa-Dias

Machado

Teixeira

et al. 2018

Water

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Abstract:Temperate estuarine beaches are an asset to coastal cities. Being located within the transition zone where the river meets the sea can provide several environmental benefits such as warm water temperature during the summer, flat waters, protection from coastal upwelling-induced morning fog, as well as additional recreational and cultural values. In this study we address a major question-can the urban water cycle impair the water quality dynamics during a bathing season in a temperate Atlantic estuary (Douro, Northwest Portugal)? Water quality was assessed according to the EU legal criteria at different time scales. No daily, weekly, or monthly patterns for microbiological descriptors were found, which rather followed the hourly tidal dynamics. Quality decreased during high tide, affecting potentially 800+ beach-users during mid-summer weekends (4 m 2 per person). Low water quality was transported upstream from highly populated urban areas. Therefore, the understanding of the dynamics of estuarine systems is essential to adapt the standard official approach, and the obtained results can be used to draw policy recommendations to improve the sampling strategy, aiming for more accurate assessment of the water quality to reduce the risk hazard of estuarine beaches.

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Gulls identified as major source of fecal pollution in coastal waters: A microbial source tracking study

Cited by 52 publications

References 39 publications

Distribution and Differential Survival of Traditional and Alternative Indicators of Fecal Pollution at Freshwater Beaches

Distribution and Differential Survival of Traditional and Alternative Indicators of Fecal Pollution at Freshwater Beaches

Identifying avian sources of faecal contamination using sterol analysis

Urban Estuarine Beaches and Urban Water Cycle Seepage: The Influence of Temporal Scales

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