Poster Details
INFLUENCE OF ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS ON ESCHERICHIA COLI LEVELS IN STREAMS AND BEACHES OF LAKE ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA
Lake Erie beaches are closely monitored for harmful levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli), yet questions remain about how these levels are influenced by local ecological conditions. Additionally, E. coli levels in the biological components of freshwater ecosystems, namely fish and invertebrates, remain largely unknown. To address these questions, we measured E. coli in water, sediment, invertebrates, and fish from three streams and two beaches near Erie, Pennsylvania. Water and sediment were sampled during high and low flow during spring and summer. E. coli in water and sediment increased 100-1,000-fold from minimum (during Spring low-flow conditions) to maximum levels (during both Spring and Summer high-flow conditions). Temperature, more so than flow conditions, appears to be a primary abiotic driver of E. coli levels. E. coli in fish were highly variable, with walleye from offshore Lake Erie showing the lowest E. coli levels, and round goby sampled from nearshore zones showing the highest levels (~1,000-fold higher than in walleye). These differences may be explained by species’ biology or proximity to stream inputs. Our findings illustrate the direct relationship between ecological fluctuations and microbial transport to nearshore lake sites such as beaches
Devin McClain (Primary Presenter/Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania , ttfw@iup.edu;
David Janetski (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, janetski@iup.eud;
Kevin Regan (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana Univeristy of Pennsylvania , ngzw@iup.edu;
Dakotah Shaffer (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, vfvw@iup.edu;
Jeffery Larkin (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania , nzqw@iup.edu;
Nicholas Christensen (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, wtnv@iup.edu;
Jeffery Larkin (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, larkin@iup.edu;
Paul Nealen (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, pnealen@iup.edu;
Vida Irani (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, virani@iup.edu;