Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T15:24:47.885Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Swash zone interstitial water is a reservoir of fungal micro-organisms on a Mediterranean beach (Genoa City, Italy)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Luigi Vezzulli ,
Mirca Zotti ,
Valentina Marin ,
Mariapaola Moreno ,
Elisabetta Pezzati  and
Mauro Fabiano
Luigi Vezzulli*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology (DIBIO), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Mirca Zotti
Affiliation:
Department for Study of Territory and its Resources (DIP.TE.RIS.), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Valentina Marin
Affiliation:
Department for Study of Territory and its Resources (DIP.TE.RIS.), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Mariapaola Moreno
Affiliation:
Department for Study of Territory and its Resources (DIP.TE.RIS.), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Elisabetta Pezzati
Affiliation:
Department for Study of Territory and its Resources (DIP.TE.RIS.), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Mauro Fabiano
Affiliation:
Department for Study of Territory and its Resources (DIP.TE.RIS.), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: L. Vezzulli, Department of Biology (DIBIO), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The swash zone interstitial water (SZIW) which occupies interstices, or spaces between sand grains at the shoreline is suspected of accumulating microbes and thus of posing a health risk for beach users. In this study we examined the presence and concentrations of filamentous fungi and yeasts in SZIW and compared the results with the fungal densities found in the beach sand at three sampling locations along a Mediterranean beach (Sturla Beach, Genoa City, Italy). Unexpectedly SZIW had the highest counts of total filamentous fungi and yeasts while sand samples always displayed lower counts. The SZIW also harboured a high fungal diversity with ten genera and 74 different strains isolated from this matrix while only eight genera and 47 different strains were isolated from the beach sand samples. Overall data from this study suggest that SZIW may constitute an important reservoir of fungal micro-organisms in the beach environment.

Keywords

fungibeachswash zoneMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009 , e19
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abdallaoui, M.S., Boutayeb, H. and Guessous-Idrissi, N. (2007) Fungal flora from the sand of two beaches of Casablanca (Morocco). Analysis and epidemiological corollary. Journal de Mycolgie Medicale 17, 58–62.Google Scholar
Clesceri, L.S., Greenberg, A.E. and Eaton, A.D. (1998) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. Washington: APHA.Google Scholar
Genthner, F.J., James, J.B., Yates, D.F. and Friedman, S.D. (2005) Use of composite data sets for source-tracking enterococci in the water column and shoreline interstitial waters on Pensacola Beach, Florida. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50, 724–732.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hartree, E.F. (1972) Determination of proteins: a modification of the Lowry methods that give a linear photometric response. Analytical Biochemistry 48, 422–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoog, G.S. de, Guarro, J., Gené, J. and Figueras, M.J. (2000) Atlas of clinical fungi, 2nd edn. Utrecht: Centrallbureau voor Schimmelcultures.Google Scholar
Hyde, K.D. and Pointing, S.B. (2000) Marine mycology. A practical approach. Hong Kong: Fungal Diversity Press.Google Scholar
Mancini, L., D'Angelo, A.M., Pierdominici, E., Ferrari, C., Anselmo, A., Venturi, L., Fazzo, L., Formichetti, P., Iaconelli, M. and Pennelli, B. (2005) Microbiological quality of Italian beach sands. Microchemical Journal 79, 257–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvo, V.S. and Fabiano, M. (2007) Mycological assessment of sediments in ligurian beaches in the northwestern Mediterranean: pathogens and opportunistic pathogens. Journal of Environmental Management 83, 365–369.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vogel, C., Rogerson, A., Schatz, S., Laubach, H., Tallman, A. and Fell, J. (2007) Prevalence of yeasts in beach sand at three bathing beaches in South Florida. Water Research 41, 1915–1920.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warcup, J.H. (1960) Methods for isolation and estimation of activity of fungi in soil, ecology of soil fungi. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2003) Guidelines for safe recreational water environments. Vol. 1. Coastal and freshwater, pp. 1–220.Google Scholar