This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sayler, G. S. Articles by Pedersen, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sayler, G. S. Articles by Pedersen, D. Agricola Articles by Sayler, G. S. Articles by Pedersen, D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1982 November; 44(5): 1118-1129
Copyright © 1982, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Impact of Coal-Coking Effluent on Sediment Microbial Communities: a Multivariate Approach

Gary S. Sayler, Timothy W. Sherrill, Richard E. Perkins, Lawrence M. Mallory, Michael P. Shiaris and Deana Pedersen

Graduate Program in Ecology and Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

ABSTRACT

The functional response to and recovery from coal-coking waste effluent was evaluated for sediment microbial communities. Twenty estimates of microbial population density, biomass, and activity were measured five times during a 15-month period. Significant effects on microbial communities were observed in response to both wastewater contamination and diversion of the wastewater. Multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis indicated that accurate differentiation between uncontaminated and contaminated sediments required a minimum of nine estimates of community response. Total viable population density, ATP, alkaline phosphatase, naphthalene, and phenanthrene mineralization rates were found to be highly weighted variables in site discrimination. Lipid and glucose mineralization, nitrogen fixation, and sediment protein also contributed significantly to explaining variation among sites. Estimates of anaerobic population densities and rates of methane production contributed little to discrimination among sites in the environment examined. In general, total viable population density, ATP, and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly depressed in contaminated sediments. However, after removal of this contamination, the previously affected sites demonstrated greater temporal variability but a closer approximation of the mean response at the control site. Naphthalene and phenanthrene mineralization did not follow the general trend and were elevated at the contaminated sites throughout the investigation. Results of the investigation supported the hypothesis that multiple functional measures of microbial community response are required to evaluate the effect of and recovery from environmental contamination. In addition, when long-term effects are evaluated, select physiological traits, i.e., polyaromatic hydrocarbon mineralization, may not reflect population and biomass estimates of community response.

Present address: Department of Agronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.

Present address: Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston Harbor Campus, Boston, MA 02125.

Present address: Department of Microbiology, University of Rhode Island, Narraganset, RI 02881.