Gulls identified as major source of fecal pollution in coastal waters: A microbial source tracking study

- Gulls could be an important source of pollution in coastal environments.
- Microbiological quality of bathing water was assessed in the Berlenga Island beach.
- BOX-PCR fingerprinting profiles of E. coli were used to identify sources of beach contamination.
- Gull feces constitute a major source of fecal contamination of the bathing water of Berlenga Island.

Gulls were reported as sources of fecal pollution in coastal environments and potential vectors of human infections. Microbial source tracking (MST) methods were rarely tested to identify this pollution origin. This study was conducted to ascertain the source of water fecal contamination in the Berlenga Island, Portugal. A total of 169 Escherichia coli isolates from human sewage, 423 isolates from gull feces and 334 water isolates were analyzed by BOX-PCR. An average correct classification of 79.3% was achieved. When an 85% similarity cutoff was applied 24% of water isolates were present in gull feces against 2.7% detected in sewage. Jackknifing resulted in 29.3% of water isolates classified as gull, and 10.8% classified as human. Results indicate that gulls constitute a major source of water contamination in the Berlenga Island. This study validated a methodology to differentiate human and gull fecal pollution sources in a real case of a contaminated beach.