1. Comparison of total phosphorus and microbial source tracking by land use type in the Lamoille
River watershed
Greggory A Perry, Timothy R Thurston, and Robert Genter PhD
Johnson State College, Johnson VT
ABSTRACT RESULTS RIBOTYPING RESULTS
•Phosphorous is a key nutrient essential to life. Too much however can •The overall trends of the phosphorous discharge point to Agricultural sites producing the highest
cause problems in an aquatic system. These problems can include an amounts, followed by the impervious sites, while the forested sites show the lowest amount of daily
overload of nutrients that cause turbidity and algae blooms (1) discharge
Phosphorous loading on a waterway is caused from a variety of factors,
and these factors are in large part due to land use . •The source of E. coli in agricultural areas was predominantly from livestock.
•The three different land types concentrated on in this study were • The source of E. coli in impervious sites was also largely from livestock, but the contribution from
agricultural, impervious ( urban ), and forested. The stream sections were human sources increased to one-fourth of the isolates.
classified based on the predominant surrounding and upstream land uses.
•The source of most isolates of E. coli in forested sites was unable to be determined, possibly because
•Nineteen stream sections from tributaries in the Lamoille River drainage wildlife were not included in the genetic library, but livestock were still the source for one-fourth of the
basin were examined in the Summer of 2008 for amounts of total E. coli isolated.
phosphorus and fecal coliform bacterial contamination.
•Total P concentrations in stream water were generally three times higher PHOSPHOROUS DISCHARGE
during a period of heavy precipitation in late July than during base flow
in the middle of June. Some agricultural and impervious sites had total P 30 30 30
140 Mill Brook AG 140 Brewster River IMP 140 North Branch IMP
concentrations comparable to reference forested sites, but impacted
Concentration µg/l
25 25 120 25
120 120
Concentration µg/l
Concentration µg/l
Discharge m 3
Discharge m 3
100 20 100 20
Discharge m 3
100 20
agricultural and impervious sites could have total P concentrations two to 140 Mill Brook IMP 30
80
60
15 80
60
15
80
60
15
10
140 North Branch F 30
25
10 10 40 120
Concentration µg/l
twenty-fold higher than forested sites during base flow and storm events. 120 25 40 40
5 100 20
Discharge m 3
Concentration µg/l
20 5 5 20
100 20 20
Discharge m3
0 0 80 15
0 0 0 0
80 15
CONCLUSIONS
60
60 10
10 40
40 5
20
20 5
0 0
0 0 30
140 Brewster River F
METHODS 120 25
Concentration µg/l
Discharge m 3
100 20
140 Deer Brook Ag 30
80
60
15
10
140 Wild Branch F 30 • The discharge trends illustrates clearly the areas where the state could use
40 25
25 120
more prominent buffer zones, in particularly, the agricultural sites and a
Concentration µg/l
120 5
Concentration µg/l
20
Discharge m3
100 20
• Total Phosphorus was measured on seven occasions from June 13
100 20
Discharge m 3
0 0 80
80
60
15 60
15
10
number of impervious sites.
through August 5 for a total of 400 samples. 40
20
10
5
40
20 5
• Phosphorus samples were analyzed by the University of Vermont
0 0
0 0
•The frequent occurrence of E. coli from livestock (predominantly cows,
Vermont Streams group goats, horse, and sheep) reflects the pastoral nature of the landscape in
• Coliform and E. coli enumerated utilizing Hach coliblue24© method
140 30
30 Wild Branch IMP
140
Deer Brook IMP 25
120 25
Lamoille County. As would be expected, human sources were predominantly
Concentration µg/l
120
• Library and unknown stream E. coli isolates were processed by
100
Concentration µg/l
Discharge m 3
20
100 20
Discharge m 3
80 15
80
60
15 associated with human habitation (impervious) sites.
ribotyping (see below) 60
40
10 40
20
10
5
20 5
•Library classification of wild life, and a more extensive human E.coli library
0 0
0 0
30
would be beneficial, and may happen in the near future in order to help
140
Wild Branch AG
140 Brown's River AG 14
120 25
identify the unknown samples acquired this summer and for future studies.
Concentration µg/l
12
100 20
Discharge m 3
120
Concentration µg/l
10 80
Discharge m3
100 15
8 60
80
60 6
4
40
20
10
5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sample Collection Filter Culture Verification 40
0 0
Samples were concentrated using a .45 µg Isolated colonies were verified as E. coli 20 2
Collected 1 liter of stream water from each Smear of filter plated on McConkey Agar
membrane filter. using citrate, indole, Voges-Proskauer, and 0 0
with MUG.
site. methly red IMViC tests. 1.Lake Champlain Basin Program, date n/a, http://www.lcbp.org/PHOSPSUM.HTM. Retrieved on 11/1/08
30
30
140 Gihon River IMP
140
Brown's River IMP 120 25
2.Lamoille Valley watershed map taken from
Concentration µg/l
25
Discharge m 3
120 100 20
Concentration µg/l
www.lcbp.org/Atlas/MapJPEG/nat_lamoille.jpg. Retrieved on 8/5/08.
Discharge m 3
100 20 80 15
80 15 60
10
60 40
10
40 20 5
20 5
0 0
0 0
Identification Ribotyping
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The unknown stream samples were Cluster Analysis Isolated E. coli colonies were ribotyped 30
compared to the known human and livestock Unweighted pair-grouping (UPGMA) using a Dupont Riboprinter©. ECORI
140 Brown's River F 30 140 Seymour Brook AG 140 Brewster River S IMP 30
140 French Hill Brook F 30
140 Ryder Brook IMP 30
isolates of E. coli. The highest similarity value of Euclidian distance method was used to restriction enzyme fragments DNA, and 120 25 25 25