Soils research at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Campus, was undertaken to investigate bacterial communities and soil salinity in an applied study. Microbial ecology was used to inform an understanding of conditions in soil irrigated with treated effluent. Several hypotheses were investigated examining changes in ecological organization conducted under laboratory and field conditions. Results indicated that relative abundance distributions for candidate forms of the bacteria community associated with higher and lower salinity, as defined using canonical correlation analysis, were reproducible between laboratory incubation experiments and field samples. The investigation is the first to apply the ecological parameter of richness and abundance to a study of microbial communities and their environment in order to determine soil conditions for sites irrigated with treated effluent. The thesis tests the theory and application of applying quantitative ecology to microbial community analysis. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/189459 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Aiken, Jane Tracy, University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, School of Natural Sciences |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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