Bioluminescent bacteria as indicators of chemical contamination of coastal waters

The ratio of bioluminescent to total bacteria (bioluminescent ratio, BLR) as an indicator of a variety of types of anthropogenic contamination of estuarine ecosystems was evaluated through a series of laboratory and field studies. Laboratory studies indicated that the BLR of natural bacterioplankton communities was proportionally reduced in the presence of a number of contaminants including diesel fuel and saltmarsh sediments co-contaminated with mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Bioluminescent ratio inhibition was observed after short-term exposure to a contaminant suggesting a physiological rather than a population response of native microbial communities. Simulated eutrophication did not suppress the BLR. Field observations of the BLR were conducted weekly for a 2-yr period in the Skidaway River estuary, Georgia, USA. These observations revealed considerable seasonal variability associated with the BLR. Bioluminescent ratios were highest during the summer (25 +/- 15%), lower in the fall (6 +/- 5%) and spring (3 +/- 2%), and near zero during the winter. Although the BLR was not significantly correlated to salinity at a single site (Skidaway River estuary), the BLR was significantly correlated with salinity when sites within the same estuary system were compared (r2 = 0.93). Variation in BLR was not correlated to standard bacteriological indicators of water quality including total and fecal coliform bacteria. Comparison of the BLR from impacted and pristine estuarine sites during the fall suggested that anthropogenically impacted sites exhibited lower BLR than predicted from salinity versus BLR relationships developed in pristine systems. These observations suggest that the BLR could be used as a simple and reliable initial indicator of chemical contamination of estuarine systems resulting from human activity.