Transcript Stream microbiology and nutrients.

An assessment of water
quality in tropical streams
located in primary and
secondary rainforest
By Emily Schultz
Supervisor: Cheryl Baduini
Introduction



Hacienda Baru vs. Firestone Center for
Restoration Ecology (FCRE) vs. Dominical
E. coli and other fecal coliforms
Nutrients
- Phosphate
- Nitrate
- Nitrite
- Ammonia
Sites



Hacienda Baru: Primary Stream Head, Above Camp,
Below Camp, Below Ceibo, Primary/Secondary
Frontier, Baru Bridge
Baru River – Dominical Bridge, Baru Mouth
FCRE: Terciopelo Spring, North Creek Falls, Cacao
Waterfall, Mid-Cacao, Terciopelo Road Bridge, Cacao
Road Bridge
FCRE Sites
Methods and Materials



Bacteria
- Sampling
- Growing
- Counting
Nutrients
- Sampling
- Analyzing
Other
- Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Temperature, Salinity, pH
- Turbidity
Results
Colonies/100 mL
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
E. coli
Other Coliforms
Total Coliforms
Bacteria
Figure 1. Number of colonies of bacteria per 100 mL (mean ± SE, n=6) at
Hacienda Baru as compared to FCRE. White= Hacienda Baru, Grey=
FCRE.
0.300
0.012
0.250
0.010
Nitrite (mg/L)
Nitrate (mg/L)
Results
0.200
0.150
0.100
0.050
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
0.000
Hacienda Baru
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Location
Location
Figure 2. Levels of nitrate (mean ± SE, n=6)
in stream water at Hacienda Baru and FCRE.
Phosphate (mg/L)
FCRE
Figure 3. Levels of nitrite (mean ± SE, n=6)
in stream water at Hacienda Baru and FCRE.
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Location
Figure 4. Levels of phosphate (mean ± SE, n=6)
in stream water at Hacienda Baru and FCRE.
Results
30.0
Temperature (ºC)
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Location
Figure 5. Temperature of stream water (mean ± SE, n=6) at
Hacienda Baru and FCRE.
Results
40000
E. coli (per 100 ml)
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 6. Number of E. coli colonies per 100 mL (mean ± SE) at all sites
during the each season. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Other coliforms (per 100
mL)
Results
12500
10000
7500
5000
2500
0
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 7. Number of other coliform colonies per 100 mL (mean ± SE) at all sites
during the different seasons. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Total coliforms (per 100 mg)
Results
50000
45000
40000
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 8. Number of total coliform colonies per 100 mL (mean ± SE) at all sites
during the different seasons. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Results
0.60
Nitrate (mg/L)
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 9. Levels of nitrate (mean ± SE) at all sites during the different
seasons. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Results
0.014
Nitrite (mg/L)
0.012
0.010
0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 10. Levels of nitrite (mean ± SE) at all sites during the different
seasons. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Results
Temperature (oC)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Hacienda Baru
FCRE
Dominical
Location
Figure 12. Temperature (mean ± SE) at all sites during the
different seasons. White=Dry, Grey=Almost Rainy, Black=Rainy
Conclusions



E. coli
- More at Hacienda Baru: greater animal population
- More during dry season: less water in streams
Other coliforms
- Higher at Firestone
- No variation by season
- Some coliforms from soil
- Enter stream during rain events
Effect of temperature
- Not visible in correlation
- Can be seen in seasonal comparison
Conclusions



Nitrate
- Higher at Hacienda Baru
- Higher during dry season at Hacienda Baru
- More nitrate accumulation in soil during dry season at
Hacienda Baru
Nitrite
- Very low concentrations
- Too much noise
Phosphate
- No difference between sites
- Soil is main source
Acknowledgments
I would first like to thank Dr. Cheryl Baduini for
supervising this project. Additionally, I would like to
thank Drs. Don McFarlane, Keith Christianson, Katie
Purvis-Roberts, and Diane Thomson for their help and
advice in Costa Rica. I would also like to thank Alicia
Hill, Alexandra Binder, Keala Cummings, and especially
Sam Scott for their help with data collection when
necessary. For her help with the statistical analysis, I
would like to thank Dr. Kristen Johnson. This research
would not have been possible without the W. M. Keck
Foundation grant to the Joint Science Department,
Scripps College.