Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Characterizing Spatially Explicit Patterns Of Antibiotic Resistance In The Marine Environment Using Top-Level Marine Predators, Jason Kenna Blackburn

LSU Master's Theses

This research is the first known study to characterize spatially explicit patterns of Antibiotic Resistance (ABR) in top-level marine predators. A total of 134 viable bacteria samples were isolated from cloacal swabs of seven shark species and one teleost species and then stratified by geographic location. Samples were collected using sterile rayon-tipped culturettes and transported to the LSU-SVM for classification and antibiotic resistance analyses using the Kirby-Bauer method. Samples were characterized by Gram-stain and morphology and placed into three groups: 1) Gram-negative rods, 2) Gram-positive cocci, or 3) Gram-positive rods. Prevalence rates were calculated for each study site as the …