Britain's birds in 1989–1990: the conservation and monitoring review: ed D. Stroud & D. Glue, (Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough/British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, IP24 2PU), ISBN (paperback) 0 903793 10 5, price £6.95, 1991, 216 pp

Abstract

The aerobic fecal flora of wintering Brent Goos (Branta bernicla), Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis), Greylag Goose (Anser anser), White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons), Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus), and Bean Goose (Anser fabalis) was studied.There were no specific differences between the various geese. Bacterial counts were in the range of 105–107 CPU per gram of feces. Neither pathogenic bacteria nor rotavirus could be detected in the fecal samples of the wintering geese, so that a contamination of the environment with those pathogenic organisms could be excluded.The majority of the isolated bacteria belonged to the genera Bacillus and Pseudomonas; enterobacteria and streptococci were less common. The observations are discussed regarding their epidemiological and ecological significance.Es wurde die quantitative und qualitative Zusammensetzung der aeroben und fakultativ anaeroben bakteriellen Darmflora von Ringelgans (Branta bernicla), Nonnengans (Branta leucopsis), Graugans (Anser anser), Bläßgans (Anser albifrons), Kurzschnabelgans (Anser brachyrhynchus) und Saatgans (Anser fabalis) untersucht. Die Bakterienzahlen lagen bei allen Gänsearten im Bereich von 105–107 koloniebildende Einheiten pro Gramm Faeces. Es herrschten Bakterien der Gattungen Bacillus und Pseudomonas vor. Enterobakterien und Streptokokken waren in geringerer Häufigkeit nachzuweisen. In keiner der Kotproben konnten humanpathogene Bakterien oder Rotaviren nachgewiesen werden.