Physico-chemical parameters and bacterial abundance in coastal water of Visakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal India, with special reference to <i>Pseudomonas</i> sp. and <i>Vibrio </i> sp.

1588-1595Physico-chemical parameters and bacterial abundance of Visakhapatnam coastal water were analysed for the period July 2011 to July 2013 in four selected stations. Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in four stations ranged between 4.9-9.8 mg/l with mean DO maximum in station Y (8.33±0.674 mg/l) and minimum at station F (6.27±0.425 mg/l). pH values ranged between 6.9 and 9.8. pH was maximum at station Y (8.068+0.451) and minimum at station B (7.95±0.439). Salinity was recorded between 21-39 ppt in four stations with highest mean at station Y (32.9±2.7) and lowest at station F (31.2±3.3). Temperature in four stations ranged between 25 to 33oC, with a mean higher temperature at station F (30.52±1.25oC) and lower at Y (28.28±1.25oC). Total bacterial counts ranged between 0.51x102 and 9x103 CFU/ml with a maximum in station F (4.66x103±1.5x103 CFU/ml) and minimum in R (4.07x102±0.2x102 CFU/ml). Pseudomonas counts ranged between 0.2x102 and 4.8x102 CFU/ml with maximum at station F (2.27x102±1.11x102 CFU/ml). Total Vibrio counts (TVC) ranged between 0.01x102 and 3.12x102 CFU/ml with maximum TVC (1.06x102±0.63x102 CFU/ml) at Station F. Significant differences were found between various stations with reference to various water quality parameters. Correlation found between salinity with DO and temperature, as well as pH with DO