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Relationships between macroalgal biomass and microbiological quality of water in a phytotreatment pond

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Abstract

The microbiological quality of wastewater in phytotreatment ponds with foliose macroalgae can be influenced by biofilm formation on thallus surface. This hypothesis was tested with an in situ experiment which was carried out in a pond with Ulva spp. receiving wastewater from a land based fish farm at Piombino (Italy). The total bacterial load (TBL) was determined in the inflowing and outflowing waters and a multifactorial design was employed to investigate the effect of different macroalgal biomass.

Microbiological analysis revealed a high TBL in the water column (18.4 ± 7.4 × 108 cells ml−1). TBL of inlet water was significantly correlated with quantity and quality of particulate organic matter (POM) of inflowing water, whereas no correlation was found between TBL and POM in the outlet water. A significant decrease in the POM concentration was detected within macroalgal ponds, due to the mechanical action of thalli which favoured POM sedimentation. Nevertheless, great TBLs were found in the outlet water. These findings suggest that TBL probably depended upon macroalgae. Indeed high bacterial density was found on macroalgal thallus surface (~108 cells cm2). Furthermore, high plate counts of faecal bacteria (faecal enterococci) were determined on thallus surface (~ 40  CFU  cm2) and outlet water (11 886 ± 3984 CFU 100 ml−1) supporting the evidence that macroalgae negatively affect the microbiological quality of treated water. Bacterial activities in terms of exoenzymatic rates and secondary production were two folds higher in the water within macroalgal beds, than in the open water. These preliminary results suggest that high macroalgal biomass represents a ‚hot spot’ of bacterial density and activity that may affect microbiological quality of the treated water. Bacterial control of inlet water and management of macroalgal biomass through periodic removal are essential for a more efficient treatment of wastewater in phytotreatment ponds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento per lo Studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse (DIP.TE.RIS), Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genova, Italy

    Luigi Vezzulli, Giorgio Fanciulli & Mauro Fabiano

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 33A, 43100, Parma, Italy

    Marco Bartoli, Daniele Nizzoli & Pierluigi Viaroli

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  1. Luigi Vezzulli
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  2. Marco Bartoli
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  3. Daniele Nizzoli
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  4. Giorgio Fanciulli
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  5. Pierluigi Viaroli
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  6. Mauro Fabiano
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Correspondence to Luigi Vezzulli.

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Vezzulli, L., Bartoli, M., Nizzoli, D. et al. Relationships between macroalgal biomass and microbiological quality of water in a phytotreatment pond. Hydrobiologia 550, 211–219 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-4380-2

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