title: Assessment of pollution impact on biological activity and structure of seabed bacterial communities in the Port of Livorno (Italy).
abstract: The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of pollution on seabed bacterial diversity, structure and activity in the Port of Livorno. Samples of seabed sediments taken from five selected sites within the port were subjected to chemical analyses, enzymatic activity detection, bacterial count and biomolecular analysis. Five different statistics were used to correlate the level of contamination with the detected biological indicators. The results showed that the port is mainly contaminated by variable levels of petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals, which affect the structure and activity of the bacterial population. Irrespective of pollution levels, the bacterial diversity did not diverge significantly among the assessed sites and samples, and no dominance was observed. The type of impact of hydrocarbons and heavy metals was controversial, thus enforcing the supposition that the structure of the bacterial community is mainly driven by the levels of nutrients. The combined use of chemical and biological essays resulted in an in-depth observation and analysis of the existing links between pollution macro-indicators and biological response of seabed bacterial communities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Pisa, Via Gabba 22, 56122 Pisa, Italy. r.iannelli@ing.unipi.it
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iannelli
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macci
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peruzzi
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiellini
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Petroni
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Masciandaro
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D007558:Italy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical