Perennial occurrence of heterotrophic, indicator and pathogenic bacteria in the coastal Bay of Bengal (off Visakhapatnam) - Impact of physical and atmospheric processes. (February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sudha Rani, P.; Sampath Kumar, G.; Mukherjee, J.; Srinivas, T.N.R.; Sarma, V.V.S.S.
• Is Part Of: Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 127(2018)
• Page Start: 412
• Page End: 423
• Publication Date: 2018-02
• Subjects: Upwelling -- Hud hud cyclone -- Pathogenic bacteria -- Heterotrophic bacteria -- Pollution -- Coastal Bay of Bengal; Marine pollution -- Periodicals; Marine Biology -- Periodicals; Water Pollution -- Periodicals; Mer -- Pollution -- Périodiques; Publications périodiques; Pollution des mers; Lutte antipollution; Electronic journals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.12.023
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-326X

Abstract

Abstract: In order to examine the health of the coastal waters off Visakhapatnam in terms of prevalence and abundance of heterotrophic (H), indicator and pathogenic (P) bacterial counts (BC) and influence of physical processes on them, time-series observations were conducted during January (winter), March (spring), July (summer) and October (post-monsoon). We noticed the impact of physical forces on substantial variations in abundance and distribution of the HBC, total coliforms, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the study region. Based on our results Escherichia coli and other PBC were not much influenced by the physical conditions. It has been noticed that the perennial existence of the high abundance of IBC and PBC above the standard limits during the entire study period leading to an alarming situation in the coastal waters off Visakhapatnam. Highlights: Studies on coastal Bay of Bengal reveal impact of physical processes on different bacterial abundance & distribution. Significant spatio-temporal variations of HBC were observed during winter, upwelling, monsoon & cyclonic conditions. Based on the results total coli forms & EF counts were influenced by the physical and biochemical phenomena. Clear correlation between indicator & pathogenic bacteria was observed during the study. The presence of AH, EC O157:H7, EA, KP, SaT, Sh sp., PA, VC & VF in the coastal waters is alarming.