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Blanca Perez-Uz, Elena Alonso Fernandes and Mercedes Martin-Cereceda
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas, Spain
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Microbio and Biotech Rept
Statement of the Problem: The main aim of National Parks is the conservation of outstanding natural resources which must be compatible with other social, cultural and educational purposes. Recreational activities involve an increasing avenue of visitors which cause difficulties to balance tourism with preservation during certain times of the year. The Guadarrama Protected area was recently (2013) erected as a National Park (Madrid). The administration of the park requires information to manage the environmental impact of visitor activities on the main conservation purpose. In this context, we studied Fecal Bacteria Indicators (FIB) in three points of the main river crossing the park (River Manzanares). The objective was to assess the influence of visitorsâ�� affluence to the park on FIB counts in different seasons of a year as well as to evaluate the short-term effects on the river. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Three points were selected in the river based on differential accessibility to visitors during four sampling dates in a year. Samples were taken in two dates during the same week to count total bacteria, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, enterococci and sulfite-reducing Clostridium. Sampling procedures were repeated four times in a year during different seasons. The main hypothesis was that visitors would influence in the FIB populations. Findings: The bacteria highest abundances were found after a weekend in the summer season when visitorsâ�� affluence was the highest. Total aerobic counts (22 �°C and 37 �°C) and total coliforms remained stable or increased from Monday to Thursday sampling dates of each campaign. However, fecal coliforms and enterococci always decreased their abundance from Monday through Thursday which showed that these were preferentially eliminated or had a low short-term survival in the river compared to other bacterial groups. No significant differences were found for enterococci when sampling points were compared. Conclusion & Significance: Recreational activities in the park have indeed an effect increasing bacterial populations in the river. These bacteria were even raised in the short-term period of study after a weekend; however, main FIBs were significantly reduced during this term.
Blanca Perez-Uz has her expertise in microbial ecology and the use of microbial bioindicators both prokaryotic and eukaryotic in different natural and artificial environments. Her main interest has been the adaptations and effects of predatory activities of protist on bacterial populations and the possibility to use these activities to test the effects on wastewater treatment plants and natural environmental setups.
E-mail: perezuz@bio.ucm.com
