Quantitative and Qualitative Studies of Bacteria Isolated from Sea Water Used in the Laboratory Culture of the American Oyster, Crassostrea virginica

Abstract

Quantitative and qualitative bacteriological studies were conducted on sea water utilized in laboratory culture of American oyster larvae (Crassostrea virginica).The generic diversity of bacteria isolated from a laboratory seawater storage tank did not change during a 15-day sampling period, although bacterial numbers increased substantially. The mean number of bacteria in ultraviolet light-irradiated sea water was less than that in nonirradiated sea water, although individual samples varied considerably. Over a 10-day sampling period during which oyster larval cultures were sampled repetitively, bacteria were more numerous at 24 h and 48 h than at 0 h.Pseudomonas was the dominant genus present in stored sea water, irradiated sea water, and sea water from oyster larval cultures.