Marine Fungi

[Chris Yeates]

As most of us know fungi have exploited virtually all the possible biotopes - Hormoconis resinae the fungus which can live in aeroplane fuel tanks threatened the Concorde project
So there are plenty of fungi associated with the marine environment, from shoreline sand-dunes to the open sea. My old Yorkshire mycological mate Jerry Cooper (now doing excellent work in New Zealand) sums up the situation extremely well here: http://www.funnz.org.nz/sites/default/f ... eFungi.pdf.
A Northern Hemisphere equivalent to his Stigmidium apophlaeae is Stigmidium (formerly Mycosphaerella) ascophylli. Every time I have picked up a piece of knotted wrack Ascophyllum nodosum bearing receptacles the fungus is there; it is also found on channelled wrack Pelvetia canaliculata, though I have yet to look for it on that, similarly common, seaweed. More info is available here: http://www.lichens.lastdragon.org/faq/w ... ichen.html (towards the bottom of the webpage).
Here is a recent collection (a bit too early for mature ascospores to have formed, though they do tend to be expelled as soon as they ripen and so are easily missed. Next time you're at the seaside have a (close) look for it - those tiny black dots are the perithecia. This has been recorded for Dorset Jenny - in fact I think that Cotton's type collection may well have been from there . . .
Chris

Stignmidium ascophylli on knotted wrack seaweed

[Chris Johnson]

Hi Chris

Thanks for posting this interesting subject area. Living so close to the sea, I have spent some time looking at seaweeds and coastal flora but have not been too successful in finding fungi on seaweed; in fact, just two species of plurivorous Cladosporium. It helps to know what to look for and on what.

Not found much literature on seaweed fungi but there is a useful section in Fungi by Spooner and Roberts.

Regards, Chris

[Chris Yeates]

Hi Chris . . .
Not found much literature on seaweed fungi but there is a useful section in Fungi by Spooner and Roberts.
Regards, Chris

Hi
regarding marine fungi in general - check your email

[Chris Johnson]

Many thanks, Chris ... have replied to your email.

[gary]

Thanks for the info on Marine fungi. Luckily I read it before going on a Seaweed walk with the Aberystwyth Botanical society and Helen Marshall last Sunday.(in Aberystwyth on the rocks next to the pier)
Found Stigmidium on every bit of Ascophyllum that I looked at but not on Pelvetia
I've attached 2 pics taken with my cheapo digital microscope.
I hope this all works as it's my first post here.

[Chris Yeates]

Thanks for the info on Marine fungi. Luckily I read it before going on a Seaweed walk with the Aberystwyth Botanical society and Helen Marshall last Sunday.(in Aberystwyth on the rocks next to the pier)
Found Stigmidium on every bit of Ascophyllum that I looked at but not on Pelvetia
I've attached 2 pics taken with my cheapo digital microscope.
I hope this all works as it's my first post here.

Nice one
pics are fine; it is truly amazing how this is ever-present on Ascophyllum - even tar-spot cannot be guaranteed on every sycamore . . . Was Helen M. aware of it? First Cardiganshire records for half a century (those previous again from Aberystwyth.

cheers
Chris

[gary]

Helen M wasn't aware of it but she is now!
I passed the information on to friends around Wales to see if anybody else had come across it .
Now a few more people are looking so it will be interesting to see what turns up. I suspect that the fungus has always been there but nobody's looked for it.
Arthur sent me some more pictures which I've attached, showing asci and ascospores dissected out of the perithecium.

You mention a 50 year old record in Aberystwyth but is there a distribution map on-line anywhere?

[Chris Yeates]

You mention a 50 year old record in Aberystwyth but is there a distribution map on-line anywhere?

https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000016382/Grid_Map but for some reason the NBN Gateway doesn't always pick up grid ref's from the FRDBI records - http://www.fieldmycology.net/FRDBI/FRDB ... BNum=42505 so it's always worth cross-referencing . . . that said I suspect that the actual distribution will be rather like: https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NHMSYS0021058637/Grid_Map
best
Chris

[Chris Yeates]

Yes I finally found mature asci and ascospores next time I looked - I suspect there is a narrow window, possibly tying in with the reproductive cycle
of the host seaweed.

Stigmidium ascophylli, a non-pathogenic associate of the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (knotted wrack)

Chris

[gary]

I'm sure you're right about the distribution and that it's common but under-recorded.
I mentioned it to Brian Douglas at Kew ,LAFF and he kindly mentions it (and your thread) in his monthly report.
http://fungi.myspecies.info/content/pro ... april-2016

I will try and remember to have a look for it out of season.

[pyrenopeziza]

Hi Chris and Gary,

In case you're interested, I did get some feedback from a couple of people after mentioning Stigmidium ascophylli in the Lost and Found Fungi Project update.

Malcolm Storey has found it on every bit of piece of Ascophyllum that he's looked at, but hasn't recorded it. His BioImages record is from Dorset.

Paul Gainey went and found it immediately in a couple of places around Cornwall.

I also spotted something which almost certainly was that (macroscopic ID only I'm afraid) near Pembroke while on holiday last month.

I guess the challenge may be to find some Ascophyllum which isn't infected...

Cheers,

Brian

[Chris Johnson]

I guess the challenge may be to find some Ascophyllum which isn't infected...

I win the challenge. Since this thread was aired I have looked at dozens of mature specimens of Ascophyllum nodosum and not until I found myself in a remote bay on Harris, looking for a Lost and Found fungus, did I find a miserable collection.

A different story this week. I noticed some maturing Pelvetia canaliculata and took a closer look. The receptacles were covered in the pseudothecia

Chris