ABSTRACT Recent studies have suggested that poikilothermic animals, such as fish, may represent a previously overlooked source of the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) used for the assessment of water quality. However, quantitative studies of FIB in poikilotherms are scarce. We investigated the presence of FIB in the faeces of five freshwater fish species. E. coli and enterococci were detected in 71 and 76% of faecal samples, respectively. Concentrations were highly variable, with maximum concentrations (2.1 × 104 E. coli and 1.3 × 106 enterococci per gram of faecal material) up to four orders of magnitude higher than present in the water column. FIB were not detected in faecal samples from marine fish. Our findings suggest that FIB ingested from the environment may be capable of replication within the fish gut, making fish a potential source and transport mechanism for FIB in New Zealand freshwaters. This may have implications for water quality monitoring.

中文翻译：

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新西兰淡水鱼的粪便指示菌：一项初步研究

摘要 最近的研究表明，变温动物（例如鱼）可能是以前被忽视的用于评估水质的粪便指示菌 (FIB) 的来源。然而，变温动物中 FIB 的定量研究很少。我们调查了五种淡水鱼类粪便中 FIB 的存在。分别在 71% 和 76% 的粪便样本中检测到大肠杆菌和肠球菌。浓度变化很大，最大浓度（每克粪便材料 2.1 × 104 大肠杆菌和 1.3 × 106 肠球菌）比水柱中的浓度高四个数量级。在海鱼的粪便样本中未检测到 FIB。我们的研究结果表明，从环境中摄取的 FIB 可能能够在鱼肠内复制，使鱼类成为新西兰淡水中 FIB 的潜在来源和运输机制。这可能会对水质监测产生影响。