Chapter VI — 99 — Bottom Deposits 



demonstrated in marine mud by Benson and Partansky (1934). Zo- 

 Bell and Stadler (1940a) found bacteria in lake deposits which slowly 

 oxidize various kinds of natural and purified lignin. 



According to ZoBell and Upham (1944), agar-digesting colonies ap- 

 pear on most plates of nutrient agar inoculated with marine mud, although 

 they are relatively more abundant in sea water than in bottom deposits. 

 Bavendamm (1932) was intrigued by the abundance of agar digesters 

 found in marine mud. He also observed various kinds of cellulose fer- 

 menters, urea bacteria, nitrogen fixers, sulfur bacteria, and sulfate reduc- 

 ers in the mud. 



Species of Nocardia, Actinomyces, Pseudomonas, Micromonospora, and 

 Mycobacterimn which oxidize various kinds of petroleum hydrocarbons 

 have been demonstrated in marine bottom deposits by ZoBell et al. 

 (1943). Elazari-Volcani (1943) found m'croorganisms in bottom sedi- 

 ments of the Dead Sea which utilized kerosene and petroleum. Several 

 species of Micromonospora which attacked paraffin wax, paraffin oil, and 

 aromatic hydrocarbons as well as chitin, cellulose, and lignin were isolated 

 from lake mud by Erikson (1941). 



Besides finding significant numbers of most of the physiological types 

 of bacteria listed in Table XXIX, Williams and McCoy (1935) found 

 both aerobic and anaerobic nitrogen fixers, thiosulfate oxidizers, and sulfur 

 oxidizers in the bottom deposits of Wisconsin lakes. 



Bavendamm (1932) and Benecke (1933) mention several kinds of sul- 

 fur bacteria which have been found in marine mud. From marine mud 

 near Kiel, Brenner (191 6) isolated Micrococcus selenicus, an anaerobe 

 which allegedly reduces selenate and selenite. Butkevich (1928) found 

 certain iron-oxidizing bacteria in ferromanganese deposits on the sea bot- 

 tom. Thiel (1925) noted the presence of bacteria and molds in marine 

 muds and peat bogs which precipitate manganese. 



Carpenter (1939) studied the relative abundance of urea fermenters, 

 denitrifiers, cellulose decomposers, and pectin fermenters in lake mud. 

 Proteolytic, pectin-fermenting, aerobic and anaerobic cellulose-decom- 

 posing, denitrifying, anaerobic nitrogen-fixing, and fat-splitting bacteria 

 were found in lake mud by Omeliansky (191 7). Allgeier ei al. (1932) 

 demonstrated in lake deposits the presence of bacteria which liberated 

 methane, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide from the anaerobic fer- 

 mentation of organic matter. From the mud of Red Lake (Rotsee) in 

 Switzerland, Duggeli (1936) isolated 72 species of bacteria including 

 some which produce hydrogen and methane. Proteolytic organisms pre- 

 dominated in the 530 samples of mud examined by Duggeli. 



In reviewing the literature on the microbiology of muds, Issatchenko 

 (1938) gives 171 references, most of which deal with the physiological 

 types, distribution, and activity of microorganisms in Russian limans and 

 lake deposits. 



Besides numerous representatives of the orders Eubacteriales, Ac- 

 tinomycetales, Chlamydobacteriales, Myxobacteriales and Spirochaetales, 

 which are generally regarded as bacteria, other microorganisms found in 

 bottom deposits include yeasts, molds, and algae. Fr(;m the Dovey salt 

 marshes which are soaked with tidal sea water, Elliott (1930) isolated 

 48 fungi, most of them being common soil forms. Algae and diatoms are 

 restricted to mud and water depths penetrated by sunlight. Protozoans 

 and minute metazoan organisms are widely distributed in marine bottoms. 



