Enterococci pathways to coastal waters and implications of sea level rise.

Highly urban coastal communities in low lying areas and with high water tables are vulnerable to sea-level rise and to corresponding increases in coastal groundwater levels. Stormwater conveyance systems are under increased risk. Rising groundwater levels affect the hydraulics of the stormwater system thereby increasing contaminant transport, for example the fecal indicator bacteria enterococci, to coastal waters.

Assessing quality and beneficial uses of Sargassum compost.

Sargassum spp. (specifically Sargassum fluitans and S. natans), one of the dominant forms of marine macroalgae (seaweed) found on the beaches of Florida, is washing up on the shores throughout the Caribbean in record quantities.

Microbial communities in the water surface microlayer and associations with microbes in aerosols, beach sand, and bulk water.

The water surface microlayer (SML) serves as a boundary through which microbes can be exchanged. To evaluate exchanges of microbes, this study compared microbial communities within different reservoirs, with an emphasis on the water SML and aerosols. Additionally, the microbial communities during a sewage spill and perigean tides were evaluated and the results were compared to times without these events.

Fecal indicator bacteria levels at a marine beach before, during, and after the COVID-19 shutdown period and associations with decomposing seaweed and human presence.

Studies are limited that evaluate seaweed as a source of bacteria to beach waters. The objective of the current study was to evaluate whether seaweed, along with humans and other animals, could be the cause of beach advisories due to elevated levels of enterococci. The monitoring period occurred a year prior to and through the COVID-19 beach shutdown period, which provided a unique opportunity to evaluate bacteria levels during prolonged periods without recreational activity.

Trends in regional enterococci levels at marine beaches and correlations with environmental, global oceanic changes, community populations, and wastewater infrastructure.

An increase in the number of advisories issued for recreational beaches across south Florida (due to the fecal indicator bacteria, enterococci) has been observed in recent years. To evaluate the possible reasons for this increase, we reviewed weekly monitoring data for 18 beaches in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for the years 2000-2019. Our objective was to evaluate this dataset for trends in enterococci levels and correlations with various factors that might have influenced enterococci levels at these beaches.