Abstract
The adding of a mixed culture of marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria to petroleum polluted seawater did not increase the hydrocarbon degradation capability of the water. All the strains of the mixed culture disappeared from the dominant microflora while the autochthonous bacteria showed a capacity for adaptation to petroleum degradation about four days after the oil spill. This confirms the advantage of natural bacterial communities. The oil spilled on the sea surface evolved very quickly under the influence of abiotic factors such as sunlight. Aromatic petroleum fractions were oxidized and polymerized. This chemical evolution causes a drastic decrease of the biodegradability of crude oil.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Atlas, R. M.: Microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons: an environmental perspective. Microbiol. Rev. 45, 180–209 (1981)
Atlas, R. M. and R. Bartha: Effects of some commercial oil herders, dispersants and bacterial inocula on biodegradation of oil in seawater. In: The microbial degradation of oil pollutants, pp 283–289. Ed. by D. G. Ahearn and S. P. Meyers. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Publ. no. LSU-SG-73-01, 1973
Atlas, R. M., E. A. Schofield, F. A. Morelli and R. E. Cameron: Interactions of microorganisms and petroleum in the Arctic. Environ. Pollut. 10, 35–44 (1976)
Benzecri, J. P.: L'analyse des données. La taxinomie, Tome 1, Ed. by Dunod Paris, 615 pp. 1973
Bianchi, M.: Etude taxonomique de souches bactériennes prélevées au cours de l'opération “Hydratante 1”. Tethys 3, 683–690 (1971)
Bianchi, M. et A. Bianchi: Statistical sampling of bacterial strains and its use in bacterial diversity measurement. Microb. Ecol. 8, 61–69 (1982)
Delabre, M., A. Bianchi et M. Veron: Etude critique de méthodes de taxonomie numérique. Application à une classification de bactéries aquicoles. Ann. Microbiol. 126 A, 489–506 (1973)
Frank, C.: Hydrocarbon autooxidation. Chem. Rev. 46, 155–169 (1950)
Floodgate, G. D.: Biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the sea. In: Water pollution microbiology, pp 153–171. Ed. by R. Mitchell. New York: Wiley-Inter Sciences 1972
Hansen, H. P.: Photodegradation of hydrocarbon surface films. Rapp. PV. Reun. Cons. int. Explor. Mer 171, 101–106 (1977)
Larsen, R. A., T. L. Bott, L. L. Hunt and K. Rogunmuser: Photo-oxidation products of a fuel oil and their antimicrobial activity. Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 965–969 (1979)
Le Petit J., J. C. Bertrand, M. H. N'Guyen et S. Tagger: Etude taxonomique et physiologique de bactéries se développant sur hydrocarbures en milieu marin. Ann. Microbiol. 126 A, 367–380 (1975)
Le Petit, J., M. H. N'Guyen et S. Tagger: Quelques données sur l'écologie d'une zone marine littorale recevant les rejects d'une raffinerie de pétrole. Environ. Pollut. 13, 41–56 (1977)
Marty, D., A. Bianchi and C. Gatelier: Effects of three oil spill dispersants on marine bacterial populations. Mar. Poll. Bull. 10, 285–287 (1979)
Miget, R.: Bacterial seeding to enhance biodegradation of oil slicks. In: The microbial degradation of oil pollutants, pp 291–309. Ed. by D. G. Ahearn and S. P. Meyers. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Publ. 1973
Murov, S. L.: Handbook of photochemistry, 107 pp. New York: M. Dekker. Inc. 1973
Oppenheimer, C. H. and C. E. Zobell: The growth and viability of sixty-three species of marine bacteria as influenced by hydrostatic pressure. J. mar. Res. 11, 10–18 (1952)
Oppenheimer, C. H., W. Gunkel and G. Gassman: Microorganisms and hydrocarbons in the North Sea during July–August 1975. In: Proceeding of the 1977 Oil Spill Conference, pp 593–610. Washington D.C.: American Petroleum Institute 1977
Sokal, R. R. and P. H. A. Sneath: Principles of numerical taxonomy, 359 pp. Oxford: Freeman 1963
Tagger, S., L. Deveze et J. Le Petit: Sur l'épuration biologique d'une zone marine littorale affectée par des rejets d'hydrocarbures. Environ. Pollut., 13, 275–288 (1979)
Van der Linden, A. C.: Degradation of oil in the marine environment. In: Development in biodegradation of hydrocarbons, Part. 1, pp 165–200. Ed. by R. J. Watkinson. London: Applied Science 1978
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tagger, S., Bianchi, A., Julliard, M. et al. Effect of microbial seeding of crude oil in seawater in a model system. Mar. Biol. 78, 13–20 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392966
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392966