title: Clostridium perfringens is not suitable for the indication of fecal pollution from ruminant wildlife but is associated with excreta from nonherbivorous animals and human sewage.
abstract: During a 3-year study, Clostridium perfringens was investigated in defined fecal sources from a temperate alluvial backwater area of a large river system. The results reveal that using C. perfringens as a conservative water quality indicator for total fecal pollution monitoring is no longer justified but suggest that it can be used as a tracer for excreta from nonherbivorous wildlife and human sewage.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Water Resource Systems (CWRS), Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vierheilig
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frick
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: A K T
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Kirschner
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Reischer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Derx
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Mach
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Farnleitner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001188:Artiodactyla / Q000382:microbiology*; D001317:Austria; D001717:Birds / Q000382:microbiology*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D060587:Groundwater / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D057805:Pets / Q000382:microbiology*; D012621:Seasons; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage