EFFECT OF SEDIMENT ORGANIC CARBON CONTENT ON MICROBIAL DIVERSITY OF BHITARKANIKA MANGROVE ESTUARY

摘要

Mangroves found in the intertidal zone are considered as a very productive area with high rates of organic carbon accumulation due to the presence of highly diverse marine and terrestrial flora, fauna including microbes. Organic carbon concentration and composition are closely linked to the biogeochemistry of the substrate, which occurs on the earth surface and in deep-sea sediments in various geological intervals correlating the strong interactions in between sedimentary organic matter, microorganisms, mineral phase etc. In the present study sediment samples were collected from three different localities such as Baraipur, Thakurdia and Khola of Bhitarakanika estuary. Isolation and enumeration of microbes as well as estimation of total organic carbon content of the sediment samples has been done. Total bacterial count was found to be more i.e. 2.5X10~(5) CFU/gm and least i.e. 1.5X10~(4) CFU/gm in the sediments of Khola and Thakurdia respectively. The organic carbon content was found to be least i.e. 1.7 mg/gm and more i.e. 19.20 mg/gm in Thakurdia and Khola region respectively. pH of all the three sediments was found to vary between 6.43 to 6.67 from which indicates that mangrove sediments are slightly acidic in nature. The present paper will highlight on the effect of sediment and organic carbon on microbial population, enumeration and its effect on Bhitarakanika microbial diversity.