| Virginia
Journal of Science.
2002. Vol 53 (3) : 157-165 |
| Identifying
Sources of Fecal Pollution in the Roanoke River, Roanoke County,
Virginia J. Brooks Crozier, Brian Clark, and Holly Weber, Department of Biology, Roanoke College, 221 College Lane, Salem, Virginia 24153. ABSTRACT
Antibiotic Resistance Patterns (ARPs) of Enterococcus spp. were used as a
phenotypic fingerprint to compare and categorize unknown-source
isolates in an impaired segment of the Roanoke River, Roanoke County,
Virginia. Antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) of enterococci has been
effectively used to differentiate among sources of fecal contamination
in many geographic regions in the United States. Enterococcus spp. were used as a
fecal indicator in a library consisting of 1,562 known-source isolates.
Two-way analysis indicated that approximately 95% of the unknown-source
isolates collected were of animal origin. A 3-way analysis
indicated that 61% of the unknowns were of livestock origin while 34%
were of wildlife origin. Of the isolates determined to be of wildlife
origin, almost all were from raccoons and geese while enterococci from
deer were present at low percentages. For one sample date, 20% of
the isolates at one site were of human origin. This bacterial source
tracking (BST) data will prove valuable for the development of TMDLs
for this impaired waterway. |