Bacterial Flora of Some Algal Foods Used for Rearing Bivalve Larvae

Abstract

The heterotrophic bacteria present in 15 mass cultures of six different genera of algae used for feeding larvae of the Atlantic oyster, Crassostrea virginica, and the hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, were isolated, identified, and their physiology studied. Of the 120 isolates obtained, 118 (98.3%) were asporogenous, gram-negative rods — types commonly found in marine waters. The majority of the isolates, 98 (81.6%), belonged to the genus Pseudomonas.