| Pathogenic microorganisms introduced by cattle may be transported to distant locations via watershed runoff. Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., and Streptococcus spp. are a few species present in runoff from land impacted by humans, cattle, and wildlife. Initial data revealed that E. coli concentrations in water were greater in areas impacted by cattle than by humans. And, wildlife contributed greater concentration fluctuations than either humans or cattle. When cattle were removed from a pasture, the bacterial concentrations rapidly decreased; however, slight variations in cattle herd size did not appear to significantly influence these counts. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and repeated-sequence polymerase chain reactions (rep-PCR) were molecular techniques used in this study to assess the impact of several cattle pastures on one rural communities' watershed system. Preliminary REP-PCR results estimated that 13% of E. coli in pasture waters originated from cows. |
