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The Seagrass Ecosystem

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Fungi in Coastal and Oceanic Marine Ecosystems

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Abstract

Sublittoral seagrass vegetations are important primary producers in coastal waters. Several facultatively marine fungi as well as labyrinthulomycetes might live as endophytes within living seagrass. Some fungi, termed as DSEs, form intimate associations within rhizomes of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Fungi may also form rhizosphere associations with seagrasses. The straminipilan fungus Labyrinthula zosterae is a pathogen of the seagrass Zostera marina and caused massive devastations in many parts of the world. Endophytic fungi that were present in living plants as well as obligate and facultative marine fungi from the environment colonize and decompose dead seagrass tissues and contribute to the living organic matter of the detritus. Thraustochytrids are common in seagrass sediments. The role of fungi in decomposition of seagrass detritus and their role in detrital dynamics are poorly known.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realize that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent.

Dave Barry

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Formerly of CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Vainguinnim Valley, Dona Paula, Goa, India

    Seshagiri Raghukumar

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Raghukumar, S. (2017). The Seagrass Ecosystem. In: Fungi in Coastal and Oceanic Marine Ecosystems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54304-8_7

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