2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
6/08/2017 | 2:15 PM - 2:30 PM | DECOUPLED GENERALIST VS HUMAN SPECIFIC FECAL INDICATORS IN MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS: TEMPORAL DYNAMICS AND CORRELATIONS WITH GEOCHEMISTY | 306A
DECOUPLED GENERALIST VS HUMAN SPECIFIC FECAL INDICATORS IN MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS: TEMPORAL DYNAMICS AND CORRELATIONS WITH GEOCHEMISTY
Tracking and sourcing fecal contamination from non-point sources in developed watersheds has proved difficult, where multiple indicators often provide conflicting results. To test the occurrence of specific vs. generalist fecal indicators, we measured weekly: two generalist bacteria fecal indicators (Total coliforms, E. coli), a genetic, human-associated indicator (Bacteroides:HF183), and the surface water chemistry of nine mixed land-use watersheds around Blacksburg, VA. We found the indicators were decoupled, each with a distinct pattern in the spatial, temporal, and chemical relationships. HF183 was only correlated with urban land cover and was elevated during the winter; whereas, while generalist indicators concentrations were correlated with all developed land covers and were highest during the summer. All fecal indicators were poorly related to nutrients, but each was strongly related to different base cations. These watershed-scale results provide strong evidence that HF183 detects mainly human fecal contamination, rather than broader ecosystem contamination detected by generalists indicators. The poor relationships between indicators likely results from actual differences in the location of introduction of various fecal inputs and subsequent mechanisms governing transport and fate in surface waters.
- C08 Urban Ecology
- C36 Water Resource Management
- C27 Landuse and Non-Point source Impacts
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Presenters/Authors
Meredith Steele
(), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, steelem@vt.edu;
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Brian Badgley
(), Virginia Tech, badgley@vt.edu;
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