Predictions of the geographic spread of introduced species are often limited by a lack of data on their mechanisms of dispersal. We interviewed boaters and inspected boating equipment at public boat launches on Lake St. Clair (Michigan, USA) to assess the potential for the zebra mussel, an invasive bivalve, to be dispersed overland to inland waters by transient recreational boating activities. ...

Cyanobacteria are common inhabitants of freshwater lakes and reservoirs throughout the world. Under favourable conditions, certain cyanobacteria can dominate the phytoplankton within a waterbody and form nuisance blooms. Case reports and anecdotal references dating from 1949 describe a range of illnesses associated with recreational exposure to cyanobacteria: hay fever-like symptoms, pruritic s...

was able to restore colony-forming activity even when chloramphenicol inhibited protein synthesis. Thus, restoration was not the result of cell turnover. The cells were not killed by exposure to 0.8 M NaCl, because during exposure they accumulated ATP intracellularly. Betaine treatment caused this cellular ATP to decrease to a lower level. This work may provide the foundation for a simple plati...

ryptosporidium and Giardia are single-celled, microscopic organisms and are disease-causing parasites that may infect people through contaminated drinking water and recreational waters. Symptoms resulting from infection include mild to severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, weight loss, bloating, and vomiting. Chlorine, a commonly used disinfectant in water supplies, can eliminate Giardia from wate...

In this study, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)-producing Enterobacteriaceae were identified in Irish recreational waters and sewage. Indistinguishable NDM-producing Escherichia coli by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were isolated from sewage, a fresh water stream and a human source. NDM-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from sewage and seawater in the same area were closely rela...

Morphologically, physiologically and metabolically, cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are one of the most diverse groups of prokaryotes. Cyanobacteria bloom abundantly in surface waters as a result of eutrophication, and they produce different types of toxins, so they not only hinder recreational use of bodies of water but also cause health problems in humans and animals. Cyanobacterial toxins (...