Figure 1 : Freshwater and salinity-tolerant nitrogen-fixing enterobacteriaceae in the morecambe bay area.
Samples taken from the Morecambe Bay gas field 20 miles offshore were negative for both
types of NFEs and this indicates that NFEs may be confined to inshore waters. There are
exceptions to this. The results for bacterial analysis of surface waters in Liverpool Bay,
which were also taken 20 miles out to sea, show that NFEs are plentiful and that
freshwater strains are more numerous than salinity-tolerant strains (Fig. 2). This is
probably caused by the dumping of sewage sludge in Liverpool Bay. Tests for the presence
of NFEs, coupled with the sensitivity of the ratio of salinity-tolerant to freshwater strains,
may prove to be an additional tool in locating and tracing sewage in seawater.
FRESHWATER & SALINITY TOLERANT () NITROGEN FIXING ENTEROBACTERIACEAE ASSOCIATED WITH THE
Figure 2 : Freshwater and salinity-tolerant () nitrogen-fixing enterobacteriaceae associated with the sludge
dumping sites in liverpool bay (Irish Sea) (MPN 100 cm -3 seawater).
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