The planktonic bacteria inhabiting fresh and salt waters are not physiologically identical; most marine bacteria, for example, require sodium and some marine forms can thrive at 1,000 atm of pressure in the deep sea. Despite this difference, the conclusion of this review is that the ecology of planktonic bacteria is virtually identical in fresh and salt waters.The differences are small and mostly a matter of relative proportion of various processes. That is, similar bacterial processes occur in fresh and salt waters but in each environment, one process may be more important than another. For example, bacteria in freshwaters are exposed to high amounts of refractory dissolved organic carbon from soil and stream runoff, while many marine bacteria are exposed to relatively more of the labile organic matter from decaying algae. Also, under anaerobic conditions the sulfur cycle will be dominant in the sea while the carbon-methane cycle will be more important in freshwaters. In spite of the presence of relatively high amounts of methane in the sea, there is thus far little evidence that ,a significant amount of methane is being oxidized.Not enough is yet known to determine if there are dilfcrences in the grazing of bacteria in the two systems. Small, flagellated protozoans are very important grazers in freshwater and marine systems but there is some evidence from salt waters that ciliates are also important grazers. Marine ecosystems also contain large animals that can filter out bacteria. Sponges are the dominant suspension feeders on coral reefs, mussels and oysters are dominant in estuarine and marsh systems, and a large appendicularian may filter significant amounts of bacteria through a mucous net. Ecological understanding of the aquatic bacteria has advanced rapidly in the past two decades. One reason is the basic similarity between microbial ecology in fresh and salt waters and the consequent interchangeability of techniques.