Soil oil-degrading bacterial populations in oil-contaminated sediments collected in Barataria Bay, Louisiana from 2018-05-24 to 2018-10-30

Marsh sediment samples were collected from 21 permanent stations that were established in 2011 to include: reference, moderately oiled, and heavily oiled sites (7 replicates each) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana from 2018-05-24 to 2018-10-30. Oil-degrading bacterial populations were determined by plating with BH agar and oil-degrading genes quantified with real-time quantitative PCR assays. The data is essential for accurate assessment of petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation.