Opportunistic pathogens related to degradation in water quality are of concern to both wildlife and public health. The objective of this study was to identify spatial, temporal, and environmental risk factors for E. coli colonization among Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL between 2003 and 2007. Age, gender, capture location, coastal human population density, proximity of sewage treatment plants, number of septic tanks, cumulative precipitation 48 hrs and 30 days prior to capture, salinity, and water temperature were analyzed as potential risk factors.
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This publication is available at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2011/597073/ and may be cited as: Schaefer, A. M., Bossart, G. D., Mazzoil, M., Fair, P. A., & Reif, J. S. (2011). Risk factors for colonization of E. coli in Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, vol. 2011, pp. 1-8, Article ID 597073, doi:10.1155/2011/597073
Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution #1843.