Abundance of Heterotrophic Bacterial Population in Coastal Waters of Palghar Taluka, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

The population density of total heterotrophic bacteria in coastal water at 4 different sites along Palghar taluka namely; Kelwa coast, Navapur coast, Dandi creek and Satpati coast were studied. Total heterotrophic bacterial count was found to range from 0.34×102 – 423.1× 102 CFUml-1 in coastal waters. Average heterotrophic bacterial abundance was noted higher during monsoon at all 4 sites in the study with 47.2× 102 ± 34.79 CFU ml1at Satpati coast, 281.55× 102 ± 148.45 CFU ml-1 at Dandi creek, 265.26× 102 ± 149.74 CFU ml-1 at Navapur coast, and 1.12 × 102 ± 0.54 CFU ml-1 at Kelwa coast. Dandi creek recorded highest bacterial count throughout study period irrespective of season.