Microbial community of a waste-dump site
Obire, O.; Nwaubeta, O.; Adue, S.B.N.
Journal of Applied Science and Environmental Management 6(1): 78-84
2002
Document Number: 259959
A total of 48 soil samples were collected fortnightly in the months of June, July and August 1995, from four different stations of a waste-dump site in Eagle Island, Port Harcourt City, Nigeria. The samples were examined for temperature, pH and for the frequency of isolation of viable aerobic heterotrophic bacteria and fungi. The mean temperature values of the soils ranged from 27 to 28 degrees C while the mean pH values ranged from pH 5.4 to 7.9. The mean total viable aerobic heterotrophic bacteria population ranged from 0.38x106 CFU/g soil to 2.00x106 CFU/g soil while the mean total viable fungal population ranged from 1.9x104 CFU/g soil to 7.1x104 CFU/g soil. The bacteria with their frequency of isolation from the waste-dump soils were: Arthrobacter (4.7%), Bacillus (15.2%), Escherichia coli (12.1%), Klebsiella (9.6%), Micrococcus (2.5%), Proteus (10.2%), Pseudomonas (5.4%), Serratia (2.5%), Staphylococcus (21%) and Streptococcus (16.8%). Only Bacillus, E. coli, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus were isolated from all the stations. The fungi with their frequency of isolation were; Aspergillus (25.3%), Fusarium (5.4%), Mucor (11.5%), Penicillium (12.6%), Rhizopus (2.5%) and Saccharomyces (42.8%). All the fungi were isolated from all the stations. Statistical analysis using ANOVA (F-test) showed that there were no significant differences in the bacterial and fungal populations between the four stations. However, there was significant difference at 5% level for fungal populations between different sampling periods.