Environmental factors related to the distribution of petroleumolytic bacteria in an industrial subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983 · Dev. Ind. Microbiol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6336741

Sokolowski, S W; Erkenbrecher, C W

Petroleumolytic bacteria capable of utilizing 20 weight motor oil (20 WT), South Louisiana Crude oil (SLC), and Bunker C fuel oil (BC) were enumerated with both silica gel petroleum (SGP) and petroleum MPN media in subsurface water samples from the Elizabeth River. This highly-stressed industrial estuary exhibited mean densities of 11, 12, and 17 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 ml on 20 WT, SLC, and BC silica gel media, respectively, and 7025, 5422 and 9039 bacteria per 100 ml, respectively, using an MPN technique. Petroleumolytic bacteria comprised < 1% of the total viable count, regardless of the petroleum substrate or enumeration technique. The MPN technique yielded 100 to 1000 times higher densities of petroleum degraders than did the SGP technique. From statistical analyses of the data, petroleumolytic bacteria (except BC MPN counts) were inversely correlated with nitrates and nitrites and directly correlated with total, dissolved, and particulate organic carbon. Unexpectedly, SLC- and 20 WT-utilizing bacteria on SGP were correlated inversely with phosphates. The MPN counts were not correlated with phosphates. The high correlation between phosphates and organic carbon may indicate that the phosphates are organic in nature and possibly bacteriocidal. Petroleumolytic bacteria on SGP were also significantly correlated with concentrations of oils and greases in the Elizabeth River surface waters.

• Research Organization: Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA
• OSTI ID: 6336741
• Report Number(s): CONF-8208164-; TRN: 86-004446
• Journal Information: Dev. Ind. Microbiol.; (United States), Vol. 24; Conference: 39. general meeting of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, St. Paul, MN, USA, 14 Aug 1982
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
CFU
CHESAPEAKE BAY
WATER QUALITY
PETROLEUM
BIODEGRADATION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
NITRATES
NITRITES
PHOSPHATES
WATER POLLUTION
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BAYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA
DECOMPOSITION
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
MICROORGANISMS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
520200* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring &amp; Transport- (-1989)
550700 - Microbiology