The Loch Eil project: The bacterial flora and heterotrophic nitrogen fixation in sediments of Loch Eil

Abstract

The organically enriched sediments of Loch Eil reduced acetylene (fixed nitrogen) at a higher rate than sediments in the Firth of Lome and other near shore marine locations. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were implicated in nitrogen fixation although fixation rates did not correlate with the SRB numbers found in these sediments. The data suggest that a negative relationship may exist between nitrogen fixation and the sulphide content of sediments.