Analysis of the distribution of phytoplankton and enteric bacteria in Efteni Lake, Turkey

Efteni Lake is a small and shallow lake located at the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey that is under severe environmental threat in terms of receiving land-based sources of pollutants especially of diffuse character. No field investigations related to phytoplankton distribution or enteric bacteria in the lake have been conducted prior to this study. To fill this gap in order to better understand the present status of microbiological water quality, the progress of the eutrophication process and to support the investigations relating to the rehabilitation of the lake as well as water quality management, a field study for determining the instantaneous spatial distribution of enteric bacteria and phytoplankton groups has been realized. The results of these investigations indicate that the lake is currently in transition from mesotrophic to eutrophic state. Enteric bacteria with multiple antibiotic resistances that may threat the public health as well as livestock were identified. The antibiotics to which these bacteria were found to be resistant were more commonly used for livestock rather than humans. This finding indicates that livestock is the more important source of faecal contamination than human-based faecal contamination. This study is the first step of a more comprehensive rehabilitation planning study for the lake.   Key words: Antibiotic resistance, enteric bacteria, biological water quality, Efteni Lake, eutrophication, phytoplankton distribution.