Vibrio biodiversity in water and sediments samples from Mar Piccolo of Taranto.

Seasonally, for one year, vibrios were detected in water and sediments collected in three sites located in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Italy). In order to evaluate the degree of microbial pollution of the investigated area, total and fecal coliforms densities were also determined. Moreover, the Microtox" test was used to evaluate the toxicity level. The quantitative results demonstrate that Vibrios and Coliforms are more abundant in water than in sediment samples. Vibrio mediterranei is the most isolated specie in water, Vibrio mechnokovii in sediments. The toxicity level of sediment samples were very high, instead there was no toxicity in water samples.