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Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary

Shelagh K. Malham Orcid Logo, Helen Taft, Kata Farkas Orcid Logo, Cai Ladd Orcid Logo, Mathew Seymour Orcid Logo, Peter E. Robins, Davey L. Jones Orcid Logo, James E. McDonald Orcid Logo, Lewis Le Vay, Laurence Jones

Environmental Pollution, Volume: 366, Start page: 125476

Swansea University Author: Cai Ladd Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125476

Abstract

Sustainability of bivalve shellfish farming relies on clean coastal waters, however, high levels of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs, e.g. Escherichia coli) in shellfish results in temporary closure of shellfish harvesting beds to protect human health, but with economic consequences for the shellfis...

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Published in: Environmental Pollution
ISSN: 0269-7491 1873-6424
Published: Elsevier BV 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68520
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This study evaluated predictors of E. coli concentrations in two shellfish species, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), at different spatial and temporal scales, within 12 estuaries in England and Wales. We aimed to: (i) identify consistent catchment-scale or within-estuary predictors of elevated E. coli levels in shellfish, (ii) evaluate whether high river flows associated with rainfall events were a significant predictor of shellfish E. coli concentrations, and the time lag between these events and E. coli accumulation, and (iii) whether operation of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) is associated with higher E. coli concentrations in shellfish. A cross-catchment analysis gave a good predictive model for contamination management (R2 = 0.514), with positive relationships between E. coli concentrations and river flow (p = 0.001), turbidity (p = 0.002) and nitrate (p = 0.042). 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In conclusion, we demonstrate that real-time river flow and water quality data may be used to predict potential risk of E. coli contamination in shellfish at the catchment level, however, further refinement (coupling to fine-scale hydrodynamic models) is needed to make accurate predictions for individual shellfish beds within estuaries.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Environmental Pollution</journal><volume>366</volume><journalNumber/><paginationStart>125476</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Elsevier BV</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint>0269-7491</issnPrint><issnElectronic>1873-6424</issnElectronic><keywords>Active management system; Public health risk; Sewage discharges; Shellfish contamination; Water quality</keywords><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>2</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-02-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125476</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Another institution paid the OA fee</apcterm><funders>This work was funded through the Food Standards Agency FSA Project FS103001 supplemented by funding from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) under the Environmental Microbiology and Human Health (EMHH) Programme (NE/M010996/1). 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spelling 2025-01-30T15:18:48.2350708 v2 68520 2024-12-10 Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462 0000-0001-5437-6474 Cai Ladd Cai Ladd true false 2024-12-10 BGPS Sustainability of bivalve shellfish farming relies on clean coastal waters, however, high levels of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs, e.g. Escherichia coli) in shellfish results in temporary closure of shellfish harvesting beds to protect human health, but with economic consequences for the shellfish industry. Active Management Systems which can predict FIO contamination may help reduce shellfishery closures. This study evaluated predictors of E. coli concentrations in two shellfish species, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), at different spatial and temporal scales, within 12 estuaries in England and Wales. We aimed to: (i) identify consistent catchment-scale or within-estuary predictors of elevated E. coli levels in shellfish, (ii) evaluate whether high river flows associated with rainfall events were a significant predictor of shellfish E. coli concentrations, and the time lag between these events and E. coli accumulation, and (iii) whether operation of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) is associated with higher E. coli concentrations in shellfish. A cross-catchment analysis gave a good predictive model for contamination management (R2 = 0.514), with positive relationships between E. coli concentrations and river flow (p = 0.001), turbidity (p = 0.002) and nitrate (p = 0.042). No effect was observed for catchment area, the number of point source discharges, or agricultural land use type. 64% of all shellfish beds showed a significant relationship between E. coli and river flow, with typical lag-times of 1–3 days. Detailed analysis of the Conwy estuary indicated that E. coli counts were consistently higher when the CSO had been active the previous week. In conclusion, we demonstrate that real-time river flow and water quality data may be used to predict potential risk of E. coli contamination in shellfish at the catchment level, however, further refinement (coupling to fine-scale hydrodynamic models) is needed to make accurate predictions for individual shellfish beds within estuaries. Journal Article Environmental Pollution 366 125476 Elsevier BV 0269-7491 1873-6424 Active management system; Public health risk; Sewage discharges; Shellfish contamination; Water quality 1 2 2025 2025-02-01 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125476 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee This work was funded through the Food Standards Agency FSA Project FS103001 supplemented by funding from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) under the Environmental Microbiology and Human Health (EMHH) Programme (NE/M010996/1). This research has also been part-funded through the BlueAdapt Project (www.blueadapt.eu, accessed on 27/05/2024). BlueAdapt has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101057764 and by the UKRI/HM Government. Funding sources have had no involvement in the decision to submit this article for publication. 2025-01-30T15:18:48.2350708 2024-12-10T14:24:49.0787801 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography Shelagh K. Malham 0000-0001-8640-0504 1 Helen Taft 2 Kata Farkas 0000-0002-7068-3228 3 Cai Ladd 0000-0001-5437-6474 4 Mathew Seymour 0000-0002-3654-4857 5 Peter E. Robins 6 Davey L. Jones 0000-0002-1482-4209 7 James E. McDonald 0000-0002-6328-3752 8 Lewis Le Vay 9 Laurence Jones 10 68520__33449__808ddc1c6f1b443fb94c4dce16942253.pdf 68520.VOR.pdf 2025-01-30T15:17:23.5708801 Output 6520502 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
spellingShingle Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
Cai Ladd
title_short Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
title_full Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
title_fullStr Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
title_full_unstemmed Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
title_sort Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
author_id_str_mv 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462
author_id_fullname_str_mv 134c870190db4c365e2ccc2d6c107462_***_Cai Ladd
author Cai Ladd
author2 Shelagh K. Malham
Helen Taft
Kata Farkas
Cai Ladd
Mathew Seymour
Peter E. Robins
Davey L. Jones
James E. McDonald
Lewis Le Vay
Laurence Jones
format Journal article
container_title Environmental Pollution
container_volume 366
container_start_page 125476
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 0269-7491
1873-6424
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125476
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Geography
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Sustainability of bivalve shellfish farming relies on clean coastal waters, however, high levels of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs, e.g. Escherichia coli) in shellfish results in temporary closure of shellfish harvesting beds to protect human health, but with economic consequences for the shellfish industry. Active Management Systems which can predict FIO contamination may help reduce shellfishery closures. This study evaluated predictors of E. coli concentrations in two shellfish species, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas), at different spatial and temporal scales, within 12 estuaries in England and Wales. We aimed to: (i) identify consistent catchment-scale or within-estuary predictors of elevated E. coli levels in shellfish, (ii) evaluate whether high river flows associated with rainfall events were a significant predictor of shellfish E. coli concentrations, and the time lag between these events and E. coli accumulation, and (iii) whether operation of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) is associated with higher E. coli concentrations in shellfish. A cross-catchment analysis gave a good predictive model for contamination management (R2 = 0.514), with positive relationships between E. coli concentrations and river flow (p = 0.001), turbidity (p = 0.002) and nitrate (p = 0.042). No effect was observed for catchment area, the number of point source discharges, or agricultural land use type. 64% of all shellfish beds showed a significant relationship between E. coli and river flow, with typical lag-times of 1–3 days. Detailed analysis of the Conwy estuary indicated that E. coli counts were consistently higher when the CSO had been active the previous week. In conclusion, we demonstrate that real-time river flow and water quality data may be used to predict potential risk of E. coli contamination in shellfish at the catchment level, however, further refinement (coupling to fine-scale hydrodynamic models) is needed to make accurate predictions for individual shellfish beds within estuaries.
published_date 2025-02-01T05:22:13Z
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score 11.090091

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