Amoebae and Legionella pneumophila in saline environments.

Amoeboid protists that harbor bacterial pathogens are of significant interest as potential reservoirs of disease-causing organisms in the environment, but little is known about them in marine and other saline environments. We enriched amoeba cultures from sediments from four sites in the New England estuarine system of Mt. Hope Bay, Massachusetts and from sediments from six sites in the Great Salt Lake, Utah.

Bacteria in beach sands: an emerging challenge in protecting coastal water quality and bather health.

To protect bather health at recreational beaches, fecal indicator bacterial standards are used to monitor water quality, and waters exceeding the standards are subsequently closed to bathers. However beachgoers are also in contact with beach sands, the sanitary quality of which is not included within beach monitoring programs. In fact, sands and sediments provide habitat where fecal bacterial populations may persist, and in some cases grow, in the coastal zone.

Fat, fishing patterns, and health among the Bardi people of north Western Australia.

Research into the resource use strategies of the Bardi Aboriginal People of One Arm Point, Western Australia, found that they maximize the consumption of specific beneficial marine FA. The Bardi assess the relative fatness of fish and animal species in their environment, procuring fish and marine species only when they are considered to be at their fattest stage: during specific seasons; at specific physiological life stages, or through on-site evaluation. In June 1999 and September 2000, samples of fish, dugong, oyster, and turtle were collected by Bardi fishermen, focusing specifically on species considered to be high in fat content and very popular among the Bardi.