Comparison of diesel degradation by native bacteria from different Mediterranean tourist ports

Tourist ports are subjected to massive seasonal impacts, which produce an environmental overexploitation and pollution by high levels of petroleum hydrocarbons. The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare the applicability of bioremediation approaches in the water compartment of Mediterranean tourist ports. The communities of diesel degraders were characterized from seawater of the tourist ports of Cagliari (Italy) and El Kantaoui (Tunisia). The community from Cagliari was dominated by copiotrophic bacteria belonging to the genus Pseudomonas, whereas the majority of the isolates from Port El Kantaoui were obligate hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria. The efficiency of biostimulation treatment was assessed on seawater from both port areas in microcosms at lab-scale. Comparable degradation kinetics for both sites were found after biostimulation treatment.