How to Cite in APA 7:
Odiaka, E. E. (2026). The Diversity and Abundance of Soil Microorganisms within Three Snail Farm Locations. International Journal of Research, 13(1), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.26643/eduindex/ijr/2026/7
Emmanuel E. Odiaka
*Corresponding author email ID: emmanuele.odiaka@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orchid.org/0009-0008-0637-531X
ABSTRACT
The study was undertaken to determine the diversity and abudance of soil microorganism within three snail farm locations designated a location L1, L2 and L3. Bacterial and Fungal isolates were identified by their cultural and morphological characteristics using established characters and the counts were determined using standard spread plate technique. Snail species reared on the farm were the giant African land snail. A total of 12 species of bacteria and 10 species of fungi were recorded at the three locations within the farm. The bacteria species were widely distributed. The highest number of bacteria was recorded in location L1 while the highest number of fungi species were recorded in L1 and L2. Bacillus was the most dominant bacteria species with the highest Relative Abundance recorded during the study while Aspergillus was the most dominant fungi species. Bacteria and fungi were typical of an environment with specie richness.
Keywords: Fungi, Soil, Microorganism, Survival, Bacteria
INTRODUCTION
Bacteria make up the most abundant organism in the soil. Soil fungi may occur as free-living mycorrhizal association with plant roots. High concentration of microrganisms can occur from animal husbandry operations and this can result in health hazards due to the presence of pathogens (Obasohan et al, 2010).
Climate and its effect on soil have an associated effect on snail farming. The effect of heat resulting in high soil temperature could lead to reduced feed intake, reduced body weight, poor hatchability and fertility (Afolabi, 2013). Snail farm soil is generally a favorable habitat for the proliferation of microorganisms with micro colonies developing around soil particles. The objectives of the study are to determine the microbial dynamics of the snail farm soil interms of their diversity and abundance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The Study Site
The study area is situated in Federal University of Akure south gate in Ondo state of Nigeria. Ondo state lies on latitude 05.0 41’N and longitude 06 .32’E. The area lies within the tropical rainforest belt. The dry season usually occurs between October and March while the raining season starts from April to October.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Samples of the snail farm top soil were collected from three locations and their replicates in the farm. The samples were labelled according to the site of collection as E1, E2, E3. F1, F2, F3 and G1, G2, G3. The samples collected were top soils (8.5 cm dept) using an auger 8.5 cm diameter. The soil samples were introduced into plastic containers for laboratory analysis.
Soil parameters determined were soil PH, soil organic matter content, soil temperature and soil microbial load. The soil samples were transported in polyethylene bags to the laboratory for analysis.
The soil samples from the 3 locations were analyzed for bacteria and fungi population using standard spread-plate dilution method by Seely and Vandemark (1981). For bacteria isolation, incubation was done for 5days, a nutrient agar containing 0.015% (w/v) nystatin (to inhibit fungi growth) was used. While potatoe dextrose agar to which 0.05% (w/v) chloramphenicol was used for fungal isolation and incubation for 7 days.
Sterilization techniques
The polyethylene bags were cold-sterilized in uv-radiation box for at least 12 h (usually overnight), while glassware was treated in the hot-air oven at 1600 C for 2 h. Growth media and diluents (distilled water) were autoclaved at 1210 C for 15 min.
Determination of the total microbial load/total viable count of the sample using standard plate count method
Microbiological analyses
The soil sample was mixed, and a suspension of 1 g (dry weight equivalent) in 10 ml of sterile water was prepared. One ml of the soil suspension was then diluted serially (ten-fold) and used in the estimation of aerobic heterotrophic bacterial and fungal populations by standard spread-plate dilution method described by Seeley and VanDemark (1981), in triplicate. Nutrient agar containing 0.015%(w/v) nystatin (to inhibit fungi growth) was used for bacteria isolation and incubation was at 35oC for five days. Potato dextrose agar to which 0.05% (w/v) chloramphenicol has been added (to inhibit bacteria growth) was used for fungal isolation, and incubation was at ambient temperature for seven days.
Identification of Isolates
Identification of isolates for the experiment was based on cultural, microscopic and biochemical characteristics with reference to Bergey,s manual on determinative bacteriology (1989) for bacteria and Fawole and Osho (2001) for fungi characterization and identification.
Soil PH
Soil PH was determined according to the procedure described by Ujowundu, et al (2011)
Statistical Analysis
All data collected were analysed statistically using one–way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using SPSS 15.0. The significance difference among mean was determined by the use of Duncan,s Multiple Range Test (Duncan, 1995)
The statistical model is as follows:
Where yij = overall observation of the effect of the bambara nut offal (A) and enzyme (B) on the ith and jth individual
μ = population mean
Ti = effect of bambara nut offal level on the ith individual
Bj = effect on the jth individual
= random error
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
RESULTS
In Table 1, the highest number of bacteria was recorded in location L1 (41). Sizeable number of bacteria species were recorded in the three locations with the location L3(Control) having the lowest number. Bacillus was the most abundant species and the least abundant specie was Alcaligens.
Table 1: Bacteria abundance recorded in the three locations n x 103 (CFU/g)
| BACTERIA L1 L2 L3 TOTAL | |
| Pseudomonas 5 3 17 25 | |
| Xantomonas 2 2 2 6 | |
| Bacillus 9 9 4 28 | |
| Proteus 4 3 – 7 | |
| Chromobacterium 4 2 1 7 | |
| Staphylococcus 5 2 4 11 | |
| Vibrio 1 2 – 3 | |
| Clostridium 2 2 2 6 | |
| Erwinia 1 2 1 4 | |
| Klebsiela 2 3 – 5 | |
| Alcaligens 2 – – 2 | |
| Clavibacter 1 2 2 5 | |
| Total 41 35 33 109 |
Number of species 12 11 8 12
Table 2 show Pseudomonas as the specie with the highest relative abundance during the study. Bacillus are the second most abundant species recorded. Alcaligens have the lowest relative abundance.
Table 2: Relative abundance of some bacteria species found in the snail farm
| BACTERIA L1 L2 L3 MEAN | |
| Pseudomonas 12.19 8.57 51.51 24.09 | |
| Xantomonas 4.87 5.71 6.06 5.55 | |
| Bacillus 21.95 25.71 12.12 19.93 | |
| Proteus 9.75 8.57 – 6.10 | |
| Chromobacterium 9.75 5.71 3.03 6.16 | |
| Staphylococcus 12.19 5.71 12.12 10.00 | |
| Vibrio 2.43 5.71 – 2.71 | |
| Clostridium 4.87 5.71 6.06 5.55 | |
| Erwinia 2.43 5.71 3.03 3.72 | |
| Klebsiela 4.87 8.57 – 4.48 | |
| Alcaligens 4.87 – – 1.62 | |
| Clavibacter 2.43 5.71 6.06 4.73 |
Table 3 shows Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices. The indices measure specie richness of a community independent of sample size. Bacteria species richness was most significant at location L1 and less significant at location L3. Location L1 has the highest number of bacteria species indicating highest species diversity. This means that location L1 has greater biological stability while location L3 has less biological stability.
Table 3: Species Diversity value of the bacteria species found in the snail farm
Diversity Indices L1 L2 L3(Control)
Taxas 12 11 8
Individuals 41 35 33
Dominance-D 0.3308 0.3306 0.3303
Shannon- H 1.993 1.991 1.843
Simpson 1-D 0.6695 0.6694 0.6697
Evenness e.H/S 0.864 0.868 0.886
Margalef 1.936 1.721 1.597
A total of twelve (12) distinct strains of bacteria were recorded from location L1 with Bacillus genera being the most dominant. The least genera were Vibrio, Erwinia and Clavibacter. In location L2 eleven (11) genera were recorded, Bacillus was the dominant genera. The total bacteria cultural types in location L3 were ten (8) genera. The genus Pseudomonas in location L3 was the most dominant(51.51), while Alcaligens, Klebsiela, Vibrio and proteus were not present. The total number of bacteria cultural types recorded were statistically significant (P<0.05) i.e., between Location L1 vs Location L2, Location L1 vs Location L3 and Location L2 vs Location L3.
In Table 4, Aspergillus has the highest abundance while the fungi specie with the lowest abundance was Trichoderma. This also did not exist in location L1 and L2 while fusarium was not recorded in location L3. A total of 126 individuals belonging to 10 genera were recorded in the study.
Table 4: Abundance of some fungi of the snail farm locations n x 103 (CFU/g)
Fungi L1 L2 L3 Total
| Dichobotrys | 7 | 8 | – 15 |
| Botrytis | 4 | 3 | 4 11 |
| Gonatobotrys | 5 | 3 | 4 12 |
| Fusarium | 4 | 3 | – 7 |
| Trychoderma | 2 | – | 1 2 |
| Giotricum | 2 | 2 | 1 5 |
| Aspergillus | 12 | 11 | 13 36 |
| Phythopthora | 6 | 10 | 8 24 |
| Chrysosporium | – | 2 | 1 3 |
| Rhizopus | 3 | 3 | 4 10 |
| Total | 45 | 45 | 36 126 |
Table 5: Relative abundance (%) of the fungi species within the snail farm
Fungi L1 L2 L3 MEAN
Dichobotrys 15.15 17.77 10.77
Botrytis 8.88 6.66 11.11 8.88
Gonatobotrys 11.11 6.66 11.11 9.63
Fusarium 8.88 6.66 – 5.18
Trychoderma 4.44 – 2.77 2.40
Giotricum 4.44 4.44 2.77 3.88
Aspergillus 26.66 24.44 3611 29.07
Phytopthera 13.33 22.22 22.22 19.26
Chrysosporium – 4.44 2.77 2.40
Rhizopus 6.66 6.66 11.11 8.14
DISCUSSION
The isolation of bacterial species from the soil showed that more microorganisms were observed in the snail farm soil L1 and L2 than L3. Of the 12 bacterial species observed in this study, four species were absent in the control soil samples unlike the snail farm soil samples which have more species. (Table 1.). The observation agrees with Parham et al (2003) and Reverodo and Melo (2007). The bacteria species were widely distributed except Alcaligens, Klebsiela, proteus and Vibrio, which did not show wide distribution in the three locations. Pseudomonas, Xantomonas, Bacillus, Chromobacterium, Staphilococcus, Clavibacter and Clostridium were all distributed in the three locations as shown in Table 1. This might be due to the presence of suitable habitat and breeding sites. Alcaligens was found only in location L1. Also, Vibrio was restricted to location L1 and L2 as shown in Table 1.
The highest number of bacteria was recorded in location L1 (12). This was followed by location L2 (11). The increased microbial prevalence in the snail farm soil samples indicates the increased microbial nutrient and conditions of bacterial growth. The high prevalence of micro-organism observed in location L1 and L2 agrees with Olaniya (2004). The snail waste could serve as increased additional source of microorganism in the soil. It could also be due to the heavy presence of leaf liters and more volumes of water in the location. This is also the location that recorded the lowest mortality. Sizable number of bacteria and fungi species were recorded in the three sites. Probably due to the dampness of the locations since the experiment was carried out at the peak of rain with relative air humidity near saturation which could be harmful to the snail in agreement with (Cobbinah et al 2008).
Bacillus was the most abundant species with the highest abundance recorded (28) during the study as shown in Table 2. Pseudomonas are the second most abundant species recorded. The highest numbers were recorded at location L3. There was no presence of Vibrio in location L3 and Alcaligens in location L2 and L3 as shown in Table 1.
Table 2 showed Baccillus as the specie with the highest relative abundance during the study. Staphylococcus are the second most abundant species recorded. Alcaligens have the lowest relative abundance.
Statistical analysis indicates that relative abundance between the locations were not significantly (P>0.05) different. Statistically there is no significant (P>0.05) difference between the species richness and diversity of the three locations. This may be attributed to the similar vegetation composition, climatic condition and soil condition of the sites. It may also be attributed to the sampling method used.
Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices measures species richness of a community independent of sample size. Bacteria species richness was most significant at location L1 and less significant at location L3. Location L1 has the highest number of bacteria species indicating higher species diversity. (Table 3) This means that location L1 has greater biological stability while location L3 has less biological stability.
Sorenson quantitative index that was calculated showed that greater number of similar species are recorded at the location. This may be attributed to similarity in soil conditions like depth, size and vegetation cover.
In Table 4, Aspergillus in location L3 was the highest dominant specie(13) while the least dominant species were Trychoderma in location L2, Fusarium in location L3 and Chrysosprium in location L1. In Table 5, Aspergillus is the most dominant Fungi species (28.88) in location L3 while the least dominant species were giotricum (2.22) and Chrysosporium (2.22) in location l3. Aspergillus has the highest relative abundance (27.07). Variations of the relative abundance among the species in the habitat were not significantly different (P>0.05).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the season and time of the study which was at the peak of rain and other factors like over dampness of the farm could lead to increase in bacteria and fungi population.The prevalence and population of the various bacteria group could be used to assess soil fertility. Kazeev (2006) reported that many fertile soils have high microbial count.
A further study of bacteria and fungi species using more modern technology to obtain a detailed view of microbial diversity and using different sampling method is recommended as an extension of the investigation in the future.
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International Journal of Research (IJR) 