Degree Name
MSEH (Master of Science in Environmental Health)
Program
Environmental Health
Date of Award
5-2008
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Phillip R. Scheuerman
Committee Members
Ranjan N. Chakraborty, Kurt Maier
Abstract
Fecal pollution of surface water is a significant environmental health issue. Indicator organisms are used to monitor microbial water quality, but often their presence does not coincide with the presence of pathogens. Bacterial source tracking is a term describing methods to determine the origin of fecal pollution based on bacterial traits. The objective of this research is to evaluate the use of 2 bacterial source tracking techniques, antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA) and ribotyping, to determine the sources of bacteria isolated from Sinking Creek. Based on the results of this study, ARA and ribotyping are not useful techniques for identifying sources of fecal pollution in Sinking Creek. ARA classification rates were low, and ribotype pattern generation success was 37%. The results of this study bring into question the reliability and reproducibility of these 2 source tracking methods for routine use in small watersheds.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Gallagher, Lisa Kathleen, "Bacterial Source Tracking in the Sinking Creek Watershed Using Antibiotic Resistance Analysis and Ribotyping." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1913. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1913
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.