Variability of some microbial parameters in relation to the hydrological features of the water column in the Eolian basin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

During the EOCUMM '94 cruise, 15 stations located in the Eolian Islands are a (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) were sampled to analyse the distributions of th e total bacterioplankton densities and the heterotrophic viable bacteria co unts on Marine Agar 2216. According to the TS (temperature-salinity) diagra ms, obtained by processing the CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) vertica l profiles, the sampled stations were grouped in "hydrological clusters". T he bacteriological variables, together with the chlorophyll a and the parti culate organic carbon measures obtained during the same cruise were used to compare the stations of the same and different clusters. The results indic ated that variabilities of the analysed microbial parameters were not obvio usly related to the hydrographic features of the sampling stations. This wo rk is an attempt to verify the possibility of using microbial parameters to characterize the structure of the water column.