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Abstract
Discharge of wastewater into coastal surface waters is coupled with the ecology of microbial communities; however, studies which look for interconnected dynamics of each of these are uncommon. Results in this dissertation address this dearth of information by examining novel approaches in determining if pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP) in wastewater discharge can alter microbial community dynamics. Research presented here identifies altered microbial community dynamics in marine waters exposed to the PPCP triclosan. In addition, Vibrio bacteria increased significantly under the pressure of triclosan. Furthermore, this dissertation establishes widespread but variable resistance to triclosan in Vibrionaceae, which may be causing population expansions in microcosm experiments. Finally, a year-long study on the influence of wastewater discharge into surface waters of a tidal estuary, uses 16S rDNA sewage markers to successfully identify sewage contamination in well-mixed estuaries. These results are important for public health because they establish novel approaches for investigating the relationships between PPCPs and bacterial community dynamics in seawater. Furthermore, results demonstrate the importance of considering trace level contaminants and how they interact with coastal bacterial communities.