Escherichia Coli Distribution and Persistence in Water and Sediment at Santubong River.

Nadirah, Ghazali (2010) Escherichia Coli Distribution and Persistence in Water and Sediment at Santubong River. [Final Year Project Report] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Various land use and human activities at Santubong River such as residential, fish cage culture, shrimp farming and wood processing factory may contribute to contamination of fecal bacteria. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common fecal indicator used to monitor fecal pollution of water and sediment. Temperature and characteristic of the sediment are two factors that could affect the persistence of E. coli in sediment. In this study, the impact of land use on E. coli concentration was investigated and the survival study of E. coli in sediment from different human activities was conducted at different temperatures. The water and sediment samples was collected monthly for three month during low tide at five stations where four stations reflected land use activities and one station with no visible of human activity as a control. In-situ parameters were recorded during sample collection. Pure E. coli ATCC 25922 was grown and inoculated in the sediment for survival study. The highest mean concentration observed in water was 19.77 CFU/mL and the lowest was Station 4(6.67 CFU/mL). In sediment the highest concentration was 41.50 CFU/g wet also from Station 5 and the lowest was Station 1(23.93 CFU/g wet). DO value of Station 5 was the lowest (6.89 mg/L) and the highest was Station 4 (10.22 mg/L). Turbidity of Station 5 was the highest among the stations. The survival study shows that temperature significantly affected the die-off rates. At 25°C, the die-off range from 0.38 to 0.64 d-1 and 0.36 to 0.89 d-1 at 30°C. As the temperature increases, the die-off rates increased. Station 4 with lower organic matter content showed higher die-off rate compared to Station 3 and 5.

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