Abstract
Enumerations were made of coliforms, “Escherichia coli” and stormy fermenters, (presumablyClostridium perfringens), as indicators of fecal pollution in the soft-shelled clam,Mya arenaria, and in its habitat, through a seasonal cycle. Stormy fermenters showed a pattern similar to coliforms and “E. coli” in clams, but not similarities were observed among these organisms in the overlying waters, the sediment-water interface or the sediments. When examined as a function of temperature, none of the indicator microorganisms showed marked seasonal trends in bacterial density. Stormy fermenters apparently did not produce any false positive coliform reactions during the course of this study.
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This investigation was supported (in part) by PHS research grant E-2228 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service. Contribution No. 135, Maryland Department of Research and Education, Solomons, Maryland.
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Lear, D.W. Stormy fermenters and coliform bacteria in the soft-shelled clamMya arenaria and its habitat. Chesapeake Science 1, 36–40 (1960). https://doi.org/10.2307/1350534
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1350534