Tidal and longitudinal variation of faecal indicator bacteria in an estuarine creek in south-east Queensland, Australia

A two-part study conducted in Elimbah Creek, a shallow estuarine waterway in south-east Queensland, Australia, examined the variations in physico-chemical parameters of water quality, chlorophyll a, and faecal indicator bacteria abundances of total coliform, Escherichia coli and enterococci, spatially at high and low tide and also over a 12h tidal cycle. Gradients of increasing faecal indicator bacteria from the mouth to the upper, tidal freshwater reaches were observed, despite isolated peaks during either tidal phase. Phytoplankton biomass (measured as chlorophyll a) did not noticeably increase during the study. Variations in the abundances of all three faecal indicator bacteria and their correlations with physico-chemical parameters indicated that although the creek was likely subject to some level of faecal contamination, tidal movement serves to limit faecal indicator and phytoplankton levels in the creek through physico-chemical stress and dilution. However, each faecal indicator bacteria investigated provided different estimations of faecal contamination, which challenges the effectiveness of employing a single type of faecal indicator bacteria when investigating the level of faecal contamination in waterways.