The Impact of Nutrient Loading on the Survival Dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus in Beach Sand
| dc.contributor.advisor | Kirs, Marek | |
| dc.contributor.author | Hugger, Joslyn | |
| dc.contributor.department | Civil Engineering | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-07-02T23:43:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-07-02T23:43:10Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.description.degree | M.S. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10125/108434 | |
| dc.subject | Microbiology | |
| dc.title | The Impact of Nutrient Loading on the Survival Dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus in Beach Sand | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dcterms.abstract | Community-acquired Staphylococci infections are becoming more prevalent where human activity at recreational beaches constitutes a large component of the source of Staphylococcus aureus. Monitoring the dynamics of microbial survival in beach sand is important for the protection of human health, and while previous studies have shown the health risks associated with S. aureus and MRSA infections, there is limited understanding of the ecology of this species. This study aims to assess the impact of nutrient loads on the survival dynamics of S. aureus in beach sand in order to gain insight on the ecology of microbial pathogens with respect to changing environmental conditions and their potential impact on water quality. This work identifies the impact of sand types, S. aureus strains, and nutrient levels on S. aureus survival dynamics using microcosm experiments to replicate natural beach conditions. Sand sample eluates obtained from recreational beaches on Oahu, Hawaii were assayed for the cultivation and isolation of a native S. aureus strain. S. aureus was found to have higher viability in locally collected Waikiki sand in comparison to commercially bought coral sand. In the absence of competing bacteria, analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing indicated that additional nutrient loads were found to have no statistically significant impact on the growth dynamics of S. aureus in beach sand. The native S. aureus strain was found to have higher initial growth rates in beach sand, but entered the death phase faster than the laboratory S. aureus strain. These results suggest that the micronutrients present within the Waikiki sand were sufficient to support the S. aureus population and that specific growth rate is independent of nutrient concentration at high concentrations. The starvation-survival mechanisms for S. aureus outside of its main ecological niche requires further research to understand not only what limits S. aureus growth in natural environments, but also how S. aureus alters its metabolism in response to the availability of nutrients. | |
| dcterms.extent | 94 pages | |
| dcterms.language | en | |
| dcterms.publisher | University of Hawai'i at Manoa | |
| dcterms.rights | All UHM dissertations and theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission from the copyright owner. | |
| dcterms.type | Text | |
| local.identifier.alturi | http://dissertations.umi.com/hawii:12080 |
Files
Original bundle
1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
- Name:
- Hugger_hawii_0085O_12080.pdf
- Size:
- 5.45 MB
- Format:
- Adobe Portable Document Format