The seasonal selection by temperature of heterotrophic bacteria in an intertidal sediment

The seasonal selection by temperature of bacteria in an intertidal sediment was investigated, and a simplified method of demonstrating the temperature adaption of a mixed heterotrophic bacterial population was suggested. The method relied upon counting the bacteria which grew at only two separate incubation-temperatures, and compared favourably with more tedions methods which utilise replicated cultures grown at a large number of incubation temperatures. Using this technique, a temperature adaptation index was calculated for the heterotrophic bacterial population and changes in the value of this index were shown to be correlated with seasonal changes of environmental temperature.