Effect of Crude Oil Pollution on Soil and Aquatic Bacteria and Fungi

Abstract

Crude oil and its derivatives are among the most potent contaminants of the environment, affecting both the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of crude oil contamination on terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms. Eight different concentrations of crude oil (Bonny light) were used to contaminate soil and water samples obtained from pristine environments. Both the control and polluted samples were organized in triplicates and the studies carried out by plate count procedures using nutrient agar and sabouraud dextrose agar for bacteria and fungi respectively. Effect of the crude oil on bacterial and fungal counts was significantly (P<0.05) inhibitory and dose-dependent with 15.0% and 20.0% levels of pollution having the highest impact on the microbial counts. In the control soil samples, bacterial numbers varied between 2.32x10 9 to 2.80x10 9 cfu/g while their numbers varied between 2.00x10 8 to 2.77x10 9 cfu/g in the test samples. For the fungi, numbers varied from 1.02x10 7 to 1.39x10 7 cfu/g in the control soil while it was reported 1.60x10 5 to 1.18x10 7 cfu/g for the test samples. Results showed that both bacteria and fungi were significantly affected by crude oil contamination, among tested microorganisms marine microorganisms demonstrated some tolerance against crude oil contamination.

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