Ecology of methanogenesis in two hypersaline biocoenoses: Great Salt Lake and a San Francisco Bay saltern

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:5861602

Paterek, J R

Enrichment cultures were prepared from sediment and brine samples from two hypersaline ecosystems, Great Salt Lake in Utah and a solar saltern located in San Francisco Bay. Methane production was greater when enriched with the biopolymer chitin than with cellulose or peptone. Organisms indigenous to hypersaline ecosystems, brine shrimp (Artemia sp.), halobacteria (Halobacterium sp. and Halococcus sp.) and halophilic algae (Dunaliella sp. and others) were cultivated and added to anaerobic and aerobic microcosms prepared with brine and sediment from the ecosystems studied. Methane production and the concentration of the methanogenic precursor, trimethylamine were greatest with brine shrimp as a supplement. Choline produced the highest concentrations of methane in all samples examined. A number of marine-related ecosystems were also examined for their ability to support methanogenesis at various salinities. Methanogenesis occurred at sea water salinity in the majority of samples, and methane production was observed from three sites at salinity found in Great Salt Lake brine. A halophilic methanogenic bacterium species was isolated from both Great Salt Lake and the San Francisco Bay solar saltern sediments. Cells are irregular, nonmotile cocci, approximately 1.0uM in diameter and stain gram negative.

• OSTI ID: 5861602
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

520100* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALKANES
AMINES
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
BACTERIA
BRINES
CARBOHYDRATES
CHITIN
ECOLOGY
ECOSYSTEMS
GREAT SALT LAKE
HYDROCARBONS
LAKES
METHANE
METHANOGENIC BACTERIA
MICROORGANISMS
MORPHOLOGY
MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC OCEAN
POLYSACCHARIDES
SACCHARIDES
SAN FRANCISCO BAY
SEAS
SEDIMENTS
SURFACE WATERS