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Survival Of Escherichia-Coli And Salmonella Spp In Estuarine Environments, Mw Rhodes, Hi Kator

VIMS Articles

Survival of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in estuarine waters was compared over a variety of seasonal temperatures during in situ exposure in diffusion chambers. Sublethal stress was measured by both selective-versus-resuscitative enumeration procedures and an electrochemical detection method. E. coli and Salmonella spp. test suspensions, prepared to minimize sublethal injury, were exposed in a shallow tidal creek and at a site 7.1 km further downriver. Bacterial die-off and sublethal stress in filtered estuarine water were inversely related to water temperature. Salmonella spp. populations exhibited significantly less die-off and stress than did E. coli at water temperatures of <10°C. Although the most pronounced reductions (ca. 3 log units) in test bacteria occurred during seasonally warm temperatures in the presence of the autochthonous microbiota, 102 to 104 test cells per ml remained after 2 weeks of exposure to temperatures of >15°C. Reductions …