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Coliphages and indicator bacteria in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
Author(s) -
Ricca David M.,
Cooney Joseph J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
environmental toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1522-7278
pISSN - 1520-4081
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1522-7278(1999)14:4<404::aid-tox5>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - coliphage , fecal coliform , indicator bacteria , indicator organism , feces , biology , pollution , bacteriophage , veterinary medicine , water quality , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , escherichia coli , medicine , biochemistry , gene
Surface water was tested for two bacterial and two coliphage indicators of fecal pollution at four sites in Boston Harbor, MA over 1 year. Of 108 samples tested, somatic coliphages, fecal coliforms, enterococci, and F‐specific phages were present in 107, 105, 73, and 58 water samples, respectively. The means of all samples, per 100 mL, were 195.6 pfu (range: 0–1833) for somatic coliphages, 101.3 cfu (0–2670) for fecal coliforms, 20.0 pfu (0–261) for F‐specific phages, and 3.1 cfu (0–32) for enterococci. Somatic coliphages and fecal coliforms were more prevalent indicators of fecal pollution than enterococci and F‐specific phages. No indicator correlated well with any of the others. No statistically significant difference in phage numbers was found between samples taken in summer and winter. No correlation was found between salinity and any indicator. There was no increase in counts of any indicator due to localized input from two marinas. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Environ Toxicol 14: 404–408, 1999