SHORT COMMUNICATION
Exploring Relationships between Fecal Coliforms
and Enterococci Groups as Microbial Indicators
in Recreational Coastal Waters in Eastern
Mazandaran, Iran - The Caspian Sea
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1
Environmental Pollution, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch, Mazandaran, Iran
2
Deptartment Natural Resources and Environmental Science, Environmental Pollution,
Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon Branch
Submission date: 2020-11-27
Final revision date: 2021-01-08
Acceptance date: 2021-01-20
Online publication date: 2021-09-14
Publication date: 2021-12-02
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(6):5909-5915
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ABSTRACT
Using microbial indicators is the most practical method in monitoring water quality. In this study, the
correlation among the above-mentioned microbial indicators were investigated for the coastal waters of
the Caspian Sea in the eastern part of the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran. Microbial analysis
were conducted using the membrane filter (MF) procedures outlined in Standard Methods 9222D and
EPA method 1600. The normality test of Skewness and Shapiro-Wilk Test, the Kruskal-Wallis test,
and the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) were used for sample distribution, sampling stations and
sampling time comparisons, and determining the relationship between the microbial indicators and the
environmental parameters, respectively. Significant differences were observed among the sampling
stations, with the highest pollution going to the Jafarabad and Daraee beaches. In addition, the observed
percentages of pollution by enterococci and fecal coliforms were 25.55% and 22.59%, respectively; and
the weight obtained for the former and the latter were 0.3806 and 0.3762, respectively, indicating very
close results and the importance of enterococci. The weights obtained for the sampling stations show
the higher importance of enterococci and fecal coliforms at eastern and western swimming stations,
respectively.