Beaches and Coastal Environments

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the rationale for using microbial source tracking (MST) methods at beach sites and coastal water bodies (Sect. 20.1), as MST methods are especially useful for evaluating waters impacted by nonpoint sources of pollution. This chapter also describes the most common traditional and alternative MST markers used at beach sites (Sect. 20.2). Two case studies are presented (Sect. 20.3) that describe the use of both biological/chemical MST methods and physical MST methods for identifying sources of microbes at two marine beach sites in USA, one located on the west coast (California) and the other located on the east coast (Florida). The chapter closes with discussion and recommendations concerning the utility and application of MST tools at beach sites impacted by nonpoint-source pollution (Sect. 20.4). Although this chapter focuses on marine beaches, an incredible wealth of MST data has been gathered at freshwater beaches (Byappanahalli et al. 2006; Harwood et al. 2005; Jenkins et al. 2005; Scott et al. 2002; Stapleton et al. 2009; Whitman and Nevers 2003; Whitman et al. 2004), and a comprehensive review of beach studies merits the inclusion of MST work within freshwater systems. The use of MST in freshwater systems is further discussed in Chaps. 18, 19, and 21.