Abstract
The effects of physicochemical properties and attachment surface characteristics on biofilm formed in a cassava mill effluent of the polluted Oloshi River (Nigeria) was investigated. Concerning to physicochemical properties, the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) were significantly affected with higher values in the discharge point (DP) than in the downstream points (DS). Values for these properties in samples from upstream (US) sites were lower than in the DP, except for DO that was higher. Klebsiella spp., Corynebacterium spp., Moraxella spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Saccharomyces spp. were absent in the US, but were found from the DP though the DS. Regarding to the bioloads, DS I has presented the highest bacterial counts, followed by the DS II, while the lower counts were obtained in US. Again, in a general form, higher biofilm contents have been observed in DS I, followed by DS II, and lower in US. In all sampling sites, wood surfaces had the highest biofilm bacterial counts followed by the plastic surfaces before the glass and metallic surfaces. In that order, higher biofilm bacterial counts then water column counts were observed. The obtained results let us to infer that the availability of nutrients and the nature of attachment surfaces directly influence in the biofilm formation in such analyzed ecosystems.
Highlights
A biofilm is an assemblage of surfaceassociated microbial cells enclosed in an extracellular polymeric matrix Darlon [1]
Turbidity and cyanogenic potential were higher at the DFP but conductivity was higher at Down Steam II (DSII). (Table 1)
The most affected parameters were the BOD, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) which were highest at the DFP and decreased with distance away downstream
Summary
A biofilm is an assemblage of surfaceassociated microbial cells enclosed in an extracellular polymeric matrix Darlon [1]. This association is usually irreversible and can form on a variety of materials including living tissues, wood, glass, plastics, etc. The nature of the biofilm, both in materials and organisms involved, is dependent on the environment and available materials [1, 2, 3]. The nature of the pollutant in the environment influences the composition, ease of formation and organisms involved Buswell et al [4, 5, 6]. Factors which influence survival of organisms in water influences biofilm formation and survival [12, 13]
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