Sewage-contaminated water is even more harmful for aquatic life than previously thought, according to researchers in the University of Waterloo’s Department of Biology. Paul Craig, Water Institute member and assistant professor in the Department of Biology, and his research team are the first to examine the effects of the bacterial necrobiome on fish exposed to wastewater.
" said Craig.
This study analyzes how the unique community of bacteria associated with dead and decaying organisms, known as the necrobiome, is affecting the metabolic performance of rainbow darters. Craig and his team examined this by measuring the rate of breathing in fish exposed to contaminated water in the Grand River Watershed using custom-made respirometry chambers.
said Craig.
In addition to harmful pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, Craig's co-author Andrew Doxey, assistant professor in the Waterloo’s Department of Biology, described how the effluent contaminated wastewater is also a source of pathogenic bacteria:
When wastewater exposed fish were returned to clean water, the metabolic rate returned to normal after a week, prompting Craig and his team to investigate the role of the necrobiome:
Wastewater from the Grand River site was found to have different kinds of human pathogenic bacteria in it. Clostridium perfrigens, Aeromonas veronii, and Eubacterium tarantellus were all present in the wastewater. They all are known to cause sickness, and the researchers found them in the necrobiome of dead fish in the study.
said Craig.
Craig and his team will have a unique opportunity to compare fish from the same sites after the completion of planned upgrades to Grand River’s wastewater treatment facilities. They are hopeful that the improvements will help reduce levels of pollutants and pathogenic bacteria coming from these facilities into waterways and minimize their impact on fish.
Craig and his team wanted to acknowledge Metagenom Bio for their work in doing the sequencing and contributing some analysis on this project.