Effect of temperature on activity of predators of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli in estuarine water

Abstract

The survival of S. typhimurium was compared with that of E. coli in estuarine water samples at various incubation temperatures. Both organisms exhibited similar survival curves, and their presence resulted in the growth of comparable numbers of predacious micro-organisms at all temperatures. Bacterial decline was found to be dependent on the presence of both bacterial and protozoan predators, the latter having a temperature optimum of 15-20ºC and the former becoming more important as the incubation temperature increased.