Microbial diversity and functionality in polluted marine ecosystems

NOGALES B,; AGUILÓ-FERRETJANS MM.; MARTÍN-CARDONA C.; CHRISTIE-OLEZA J.; LANFRANCONI MP.; LALUCAT J.; BOSCH, R.

Bruselas (BELGICA)

Jornada; A celebration of a decade of environmental biotechnology exchange activities. EC-US Biotechnology; 2005

The presence of hydrocarbons in the marine environment is a common fact worldwide. Pollution is particularly relevant in the coastal environment, where it interferes directly with economic and social development. Therefore it is important to assess the impact of pollution on coastal communities, especially in economically sensitive areas. Since microorganisms react rapidly to contamination and are the main players in hydrocarbon degradation in the marine environment, monitoring coastal marine microbial communities might constitute a suitable tool for assessing the state of coastal waters. To explore this possibility we studied the composition and dynamicsof bacterial communities in a coastal area in the SW of the island of Mallorca (Spain), adjacent to a marina and a small beach, throughout a period of fourteen months. The data obtained were integrated spatially by using techniques from Geographic Information System (GIS). An area influenced by the presence of the marina could be established, which was characterised by higher hydrocarbon, chlorophyll and bacterial concentrations, and by a bacterial communitiy with a different composition. The extension of this impacted area was larger in summer, when the anthropogenic impact of the area increases. Certain bacterial populations were totally excluded from the most impacted areas, and therefore they might be suitable indicators in the evaluation of the state of coastal waters.  monitoring coastal marine microbial communities