RECOVERY OF BDELLOVIBRIOS FROM SUBMERGED SURFACES AND OTHER AQUATIC HABITATS

The distribution of bdellovibrios was investigated over a wide geograp hical area of the Chesapeake Bay including some tributaries and subest uaries. Bdellovibrios were recovered from five aquatic habitats; water , sediment, oyster shell surface biofilm, zooplankton, and plants over a wide range of temperature and salinity measurements. Consistently, the greatest number of the predators was recovered from samples of bio film irrespective of temperature and salinity. A decrease in the numbe rs and frequency of predators recovered from all habitats was observed at temperatures below 10 degrees C. Only the shell surface biofilm sa mples yielded bdellovibrios 100% of the time. The organisms were recov ered from 79% of water samples and 44% of sediment samples. The result s reveal that bdellovibrios are surface-associated organisms and that this association appears to provide some protection for the predators at low temperatures.