Microbiology of a northern river: bacterial distribution and relationship to suspended sediment and organic carbon

Epifluorescent microscopy showed as many as 4 x l06 bacteria/minL t he turbid waters of the Athabasca River near the tar sand deposits in northeastern Alberta. The numbers were usually similar upstream and downstream (60 km) from pilot-mining operations. The majority of bacteria existed as free-livi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Geesey, Gill G., Costerton, J. William
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: 1979
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/13160
Description
Summary:Epifluorescent microscopy showed as many as 4 x l06 bacteria/minL t he turbid waters of the Athabasca River near the tar sand deposits in northeastern Alberta. The numbers were usually similar upstream and downstream (60 km) from pilot-mining operations. The majority of bacteria existed as free-living cells in spite of the fact there were high concentrations of suspended sediment present (average 220 mg/L) dul-ing the ice-free period. Fluctuations in bacterial concentration were positively correlated (r= 0.86, P< 0.05) with total organic carbon concentrntions in the river water.