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. 2021 Aug 16;16(8):e0256266.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256266. eCollection 2021.

Impact of heavy precipitation events on pathogen occurrence in estuarine areas of the Puzi River in Taiwan

Yi-Jia Shih  1   2 , Jung-Sheng Chen  2   3 , Yi-Jen Chen  4 , Pei-Yu Yang  5   6 , Yi-Jie Kuo  7 , Tsung-Hsien Chen  8 , Bing-Mu Hsu  2   9
Affiliations

Impact of heavy precipitation events on pathogen occurrence in estuarine areas of the Puzi River in Taiwan

Yi-Jia Shih et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Pathogen populations in estuarine areas are dynamic, as they are subject to multiple natural and anthropogenic challenges. Heavy rainfall events bring instability to the aquatic environment in estuaries, causing changes in pathogen populations and increased environmental sanitation and public health concerns. In this study, we investigated the effects of heavy precipitation on the occurrence of pathogens in the Puzi River estuary, which is adjacent to the largest inshore oyster farming area in Taiwan. Our results indicated that Vibrio parahaemolyticus and adenovirus were the most frequently detected pathogens in the area. There was a significant difference (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.01) in water quality parameters, including total coliform, Escherichia coli, water temperature, turbidity, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, between groups with and without V. parahaemolyticus. In addition, the detection rate was negatively correlated with the average daily rainfall (r2 > 0.8). There was no significant difference between water quality parameters and the presence/absence of adenovirus, but a positive correlation was observed between the average daily rainfall and the detection rate of adenovirus (r2 ≥ 0.75). We conclude that heavy precipitation changes estuarine water quality, causing variations in microbial composition, including pathogens. As extreme weather events become more frequent due to climate change, the potential impacts of severe weather events on estuarine environments require further investigation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Sampling locations around the estuarine areas of the Puzi River in Taiwan.
Sites A and B were downstream of the Puzi River, sites C to E were fishing ports, and sites F to H were offshore oyster farms. The geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude) are as follows: A (23.458433, 120.177433), B (23.445306, 120.165667), C (23.452656, 120.138769), D (23.450560, 120.139850), E (23.451032, 120.137538), F (23.473775, 120.120292), G (23.444178, 120.132592), and H (23.410706, 120.120975).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Timeline of weather parameters around estuarine areas of the Puzi River and the sampling dates.
The dashed red arrow bar indicates the date for seasonal sampling. The dashed blue arrow bar indicates the sampling dates during rainfall events.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Correlation between the detection rates of pathogens and the averages of daily precipitation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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