Conservation outside Protected Areas and the Effect of Human‐Dominated Landscapes on Stress Hormones in Savannah Elephants

Biodiversity conservation strategies are increasingly focused on regions outside national protected areas, where animals face numerous anthropogenic threats and must coexist with human settlements, livestock, and agriculture. The effects of these potential threats are not always clear, but they could have profound implications for population viability. We used savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a case study to assess the physiological stress associated with living in a human‐livestock‐dominated landscape. We collected samples over two 3‐month periods in 2007 and 2008. We used fecal DNA to identify 96 individual elephants in a community conservation area (CCA) and measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations as a proxy for stress. The CCA is community Maasai land managed for livestock and wildlife. We compared the FGM concentrations from the CCA to FGM concentrations of 40 elephants in Amboseli National Park and 32 elephants in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where human settlements and intense livestock grazing were absent. In the CCA, we found no significant individual differences in FGM concentrations among the elephants in 2007 (p = 0.312) or 2008 (p = 0.412) and no difference between years (p = 0.616). The elephants in the CCA had similar FGM concentrations to the Maasai Mara population, but Amboseli elephants had significantly lower FGM concentrations than those in either Maasai Mara or the CCA (Tukey pairwise test, p < 0.001), due primarily to females excreting significantly lower FGM relative to males (p = 0.025). In the CCA, there was no relation among female group size, average pairwise group relatedness, and average group FGM concentration. We found no clear evidence of chronic stress in elephants living on CCA communal land, which is encouraging for conservation strategies promoting the protection of animals living outside protected areas. Conservación Fuera de Áreas Protegidas y el Efecto de Paisajes Dominados por Humanos sobre Hormonas del Estrés en Elefantes Africanos     

CONCENTRATION AND SOURCES OF FECAL AND ORGANIC POLLUTION IN AN AGRICULTURAL WATERSHED1

ABSTRACT: Fecal contamination and organic pollution of an agricultural drainage in northeast Indiana was high. Bacterial counts (total coliform, TC; fecal coliform, FC; and fecal streptococcus, FS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) were used to assess waste concentrations. Coliform counts indicated that sections of the drainage receiving septic effluent had waste concentrations far in excess of public health standards (mean FC = 550,000/100 ml). Areas of drainage remote from septic tank pollution were found to occasionally meet federal public health standards for whole body contact recreation but generally these areas had twice the allowable limit of 200 FC/100 ml. Bacterial contamination was highest during runoff events when the median values for TC, FC, and FS were 5, 3, and 17 times greater, respectively, than the median values during low stream discharge. Surface flows carried contaminants from unconfined livestock operations and fecally contaminated sediment was transported by high waters. During one runoff event a BOD loading of 36.7 kg/km² was recorded and the peak BOD concentration observed was 16 mg/l. A discharge of liquid manure from a confined livestock operation caused a major fish kill. Pollution from septic tanks and unconfined livestock is greatest at high stream discharge when dilution reduces the impact on aquatic life.     

FECAL COLIFORM AND STREPTOCOCCUS CONCENTRATIONS IN RUNOFF FROM GRAZED PASTURES IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS1

ABSTRACT: Agricultural practices such as cattle grazing and animal manure application can contribute to relatively high runoff concentrations of fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS). Available information, however, is inconsistent with respect to the effects of such practices as well as to measures that can discriminate among candidate sources of FC and FS. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of grazing, time of year, and runoff amounts on FC and FS concentrations and to evaluate whether FCIFS concentration ratios are consistent with earlier values reported as characteristic of animal sources. Runoff from four Northwest Arkansas fields was sampled and analyzed for fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) for nearly three years (1991–1994). Each field was grazed and fertilized, with two fields receiving inorganic fertilizer and two receiving animal manure. Runoff amount had no effect on runoff concentrations of FC or FS. There were no consistent relationships between the presence of cattle and FC and FS runoff concentrations. Both FC and FS concentrations were affected by the season during which the runoff occurred. Higher concentrations were observed during warmer months. Runoff FC concentrations exceeded the primary contact standard of 200 cfu/100 mL during at least 89 percent of all runoff events and the secondary contact standard of 1000 cfu/100 mL during at least 70 percent of the events. Ratios of FC to FS concentrations varied widely (from near zero to more than 100), confirming earlier findings that FC/FS ratios are not a reliable indicator of the source of FC and FS.     

Escherichia coli and total coliforms in water and sediments at lake marinas

Escherichia coli, a fecal coliform, and total coliforms were monitored between September 1999 and October 2001 in five marinas at Lake Texoma, located on the Oklahoma and Texas border. The general trend was that densities of E. coli were lower in the summer season due to the lower loading of fecal material into Lake Texoma and the ecological conditions of the lake, such as more vigorous grazing by protozoa and less viability of E. coli at an elevated temperature. The densities of total coliforms greatly increased in the summer. E. coli levels increased with depth, and the bottom water samples had higher densities of E. coli mainly due to their association with particles. There was a direct relationship between amount of gasoline sold, which was related to recreational boating activity, and the resuspension of E. coli. This indicated that recreational boating activity in lake marinas may have resuspended bottom sediments with bound E. coli, and the presence of E. coli in marinas was not an indication of recent fecal contamination. E. coli were detected in the largest densities at the boat dock points, followed by the gasoline filling station, and marina entrance. In addition, enumeration of bacteria in bottom sediment showed that the densities of E. coli and total coliforms in sediment were much higher compared to those in lake water.     

The prevalence of bacterial resistance in clinical, food, water and some environmental samples in Southwest Nigeria

The resistance pattern and mechanisms of bacterial isolates obtained from clinical origin, soil, industrial effluent, orange juice products and drinking water were studied using commonly used antibiotics. The microbial load of the water samples, industrial effluent and orange juice products were 1.0 × 10¹–2.25 × 10⁶, 2.15 × 10⁵, and 3.5 × 10⁴–2.15 × 10⁵ cfu mL^–1, respectively. The faecal coliform test revealed that only two out of twenty orange juice products had MPN of 2 and 20, the MPN of water ranged from 1–1800, while the effluent had MPN of 1800. The bacterial isolates that were isolated include E. coli, S. aureus, P. vulgaris, S. marcescens, S. pyogenes, B. cereus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus sp., Klebsiella sp., P. aeruginosa, and Enterobacter sp. Also, clinical and soil isolates of P. aeruginosa were used in the study. Among the eight antibiotics tested for resistance on five strains of each bacterium, seven different resistance patterns were observed among the bacterial isolates obtained from water, effluent and orange juice products. Among the clinical and soil isolates of P. aeruginosa, four multiple-drug resistance patterns were obtained. Thirty strains of E. coli and S. aureus were tested for -lactamase production and fourteen strains, seven each of E. coli and S. aureus that had high Minimum Inhibitory Concentration values (MIC) for both Amoxycillin and Cloxacillin were positive.     

Bacteriological Purification of the Finnish River Kymi

With its total drainage basin of 37 107 km2 and mean annual discharge of 307 m3 s-1, the River Kymi is one of the largest in Finland. Presently it receives treated domestic wastewaters of about 160 000 inhabitants through eight treatment plants and treated industrial effluents from four paper mills, two cardboard mills and one pulp mill. In the 1960s all the wastewaters were discharged untreated to the river. However, the construction of domestic wastewater treatment plants began in the 1970s and mechanical wastewater treatment became common in industry. By the end of the 1980s practically all the wastewaters discharged to the river were treated in activated sludge processes. The aim of this paper was to investigate the influence of wastewater purification on the bacteriological quality of the river during these three decades. The bacteriological quality of the river was evaluated on the basis of annual medians of fecal streptococci (FS) calculated for 15 sites on the basis of 4804 FS enumerations from the years 1964-1992. The results show that the bacteriological quality improved steadily as the number of treatment plants increased and wastewater treatment became more effective. In the beginning of the 1960s the annual FS medians in the central part of the river were typically 1000-1500 CFU/100 ml, whereas in the 1990s they had decreased to 30-40 CFU/100 ml (CFU = colony forming units). The results indicate that FS input to the river was mainly of domestic origin.     

INTEGRATED PLANNING OF RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION1

ABSTRACT: Development schemes to improve the health of the rural populace through prevention of the transmission of communicable diseases should be considered in the context of some kind of “Sanitation Package” to ensure effectiveness. The general practice of concentrating resources on limited objectives, like water quality improvement, is shown to be less effective than allocating the same resources to multi-objectives defined in the Sanitation package. Systems Dynamic Modeling based on the DYNAMO II language, is presented as a capable tool for sanitation systems planning.     

A LONG‐TERM,WATERSHED‐SCALE,EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF ANIMAL WASTE BMPs ON INDICATOR BACTERIA CONCENTRATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Driven by increasing concerns about bacterial pollution from agricultural sources, states such as Virginia have initiated cost sharing programs that encourage the use of animal waste best management practices (BMPs) to control this pollution. Although a few studies have shown that waste management BMPs are effective at the field scale, their effectiveness at the watershed scale and over the long term is unknown. The focus of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs in reducing bacterial pollution at the watershed scale and over the long term. To accomplish this goal, a 1,163 ha watershed located in the Piedmont region of Virginia was monitored over a ten‐year period. Fecal coliforms (FC) and fecal streptococci (FS) were measured as indicators of bacterial pollution. A pre‐BMP versus post‐BMP design was adopted. Major BMPs implemented were manure storage facilities, stream fencing, water troughs, and nutrient management. Seasonal Kendall trend analysis revealed a significant decreasing trend during the post‐BMP period for FC concentrations at the watershed outlet, but not at the subwatershed level. Implementation of BMPs also resulted in a significant reduction in the geometric mean of FS concentrations. FC concentrations in streamflow at the watershed outlet exceeded the Virginia primary standard 86 and 74 percent of the time during pre‐BMP and post‐BMP periods, respectively. Corresponding exceedances for the secondary standard were 50 and 41 percent. Violations decreased only slightly during the post‐BMP period. The findings of this study suggest that although BMP implementation can be expected to accomplish some improvement in water quality, BMP implementation alone may not ensure compliance with current water quality standards.     

Treatment of turtle-breeding wastewater and domestic fecal sewage with soil cultivating system

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地表水粪大肠菌群监测工作实践和探讨

该文结合多管发酵法测定地表水粪大肠菌群，分析和探讨粪大肠菌群河流特性分布、监测中存在问题，提出对策措施。