In this study, monthly and daily samplings
were carried out at Klang, an eutrophic estuary, and at Port
Dickson, an oligotrophic coastal water system.
Escherichia coli
concentration was measured via culture method, and
the phylogenetic structure of
E. coli population was via
Clermont typing. Average
E. coli concentration at Klang
was higher than Port Dickson (
t = 2.97,
df = 10,
p<0.05), and daily sampling did not show any apparent
temporal variation at both sites. At Klang, salinity was
inversely correlated with coliform (
R2 = 0.216,
df = 25,
p<0.05), suggesting that river flow was a mode of
transport for coliform. Although
E. coli concentration was
higher at the eutrophic site,
E. coli population structure at
both Klang and Port Dickson were similar and showed
neither long-term nor short-term variations. This study
showed the predominance of commensal groups A and B1
in tropical coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia.
