Problems with deflocculation and solids separation in biological wastewater treatment systems are linked to fluctuations in physicochemical conditions. This study examined the composition of activated sludge bacterial communities in lab-scale sequencing batch reactors treating bleached kraft mill effluent, under transient temperature conditions (30 to 45 A degrees C) and their correlation to sludge settleability problems. The bacterial community composition of settled and planktonic biomass samples in the reactors was monitored via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragments. Our analysis showed that settled biomass has a different community composition from the planktonic biomass (49 A +/- 7% difference based on Jaccard similarity coefficients; p < 0.01). During times of poor sludge compression, the settled and planktonic biomass became more similar. This observation supports the hypothesis that settling problems observed were due to deflocculation of normally settling flocs rather than the outgrowth of non-settling bacterial species.