Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Fishery Resources and Eco-environment, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, China.
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan.
PLoS One. 2021 Aug 16;16(8):e0256266. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256266. eCollection 2021.
Pathogen populations in estuarine areas are dynamic, as they are subject to multiple natural and anthropogenic challenges. Heavy rainfall events bring instability to the aquatic environment in estuaries, causing changes in pathogen populations and increased environmental sanitation and public health concerns. In this study, we investigated the effects of heavy precipitation on the occurrence of pathogens in the Puzi River estuary, which is adjacent to the largest inshore oyster farming area in Taiwan. Our results indicated that Vibrio parahaemolyticus and adenovirus were the most frequently detected pathogens in the area. There was a significant difference (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.01) in water quality parameters, including total coliform, Escherichia coli, water temperature, turbidity, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, between groups with and without V. parahaemolyticus. In addition, the detection rate was negatively correlated with the average daily rainfall (r2 > 0.8). There was no significant difference between water quality parameters and the presence/absence of adenovirus, but a positive correlation was observed between the average daily rainfall and the detection rate of adenovirus (r2 ≥ 0.75). We conclude that heavy precipitation changes estuarine water quality, causing variations in microbial composition, including pathogens. As extreme weather events become more frequent due to climate change, the potential impacts of severe weather events on estuarine environments require further investigation.
河口地区的病原体种群是动态的，因为它们受到多种自然和人为挑战的影响。强降雨事件会使河口的水生环境变得不稳定，导致病原体种群发生变化，并增加环境卫生和公共卫生方面的担忧。在这项研究中，我们调查了强降水对毗邻台湾最大近岸牡蛎养殖区的浦子河口病原体发生的影响。我们的结果表明，副溶血性弧菌和腺病毒是该地区最常检测到的病原体。在有和没有副溶血性弧菌的水样中，水质参数（总大肠菌群、大肠杆菌、水温、浊度、盐度和溶解氧）存在显著差异（Mann-Whitney U 检验，p<0.01）。此外，检测率与平均日降雨量呈负相关（r2>0.8）。水样中腺病毒的存在与水质参数之间无显著差异，但平均日降雨量与腺病毒的检测率呈正相关（r2≥0.75）。我们的结论是，强降水会改变河口水质，导致微生物组成发生变化，包括病原体。由于气候变化导致极端天气事件变得更加频繁，严重天气事件对河口环境的潜在影响需要进一步研究。
