The number of cultured heterotrophic bacteria and the total bacterial number in the surface microlayer, water column and epilithic biofilms of the littoral zone of Lake Baikal

Abstract

We have shown that the number of heterotrophic bacteria in the surface microlayer and periphyton is reliably higher than in the water column, which characterizes these biotopes as sites of intense destruction of suspended organic matter. Average values of the total bacterial number, the number of cultured heterotrophic bacteria and the K index indicate the elevated supply of labile organic matter at the stations near the Listvyanka settlement, the Olkhonskiye Vorota Strait and Aya Bay.