This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sridhar, K. R.
Right arrow Articles by Bärlocher, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sridhar, K. R.
Right arrow Articles by Bärlocher, F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Sridhar, K. R.
Right arrow Articles by Bärlocher, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1114-1119, Vol. 66, No. 3
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Initial Colonization, Nutrient Supply, and Fungal Activity on Leaves Decaying in Streams

K. R. Sridhar1 and Felix Bärlocher2,*

Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada E4L 1G7,2 and Department of Biological Sciences, Mangalore University, Mangalagangotri 574 199, Mangalore, India1

Received 23 August 1999/Accepted 24 December 1999

Aquatic hyphomycetes dominate leaf decomposition in streams, and their biomass is an important component in the diet of leaf-eating invertebrates. After 2 weeks of exposure in a first-order stream, maple leaf disks had low levels of fungal biomass and species diversity. Spore production by aquatic hyphomycetes also was low. Subsets of these disks were left in the stream for another 3 weeks or incubated in defined mineral solutions with one of three levels of nitrate and phosphate. Stream disks lost mass, increased ergosterol levels and spore production, and were colonized by additional fungal species. External N and P significantly stimulated mass loss, ergosterol accumulation, and spore production of laboratory disks. On disks incubated without added N and P, ergosterol levels declined while conidium production continued, suggesting conversion of existing hyphal biomass to propagules. In all other treatments, approximately equal amounts of newly synthesized biomass were invested in hyphae and conidia. Net yield (fungal biomass per leaf mass lost) varied between 1% (in the laboratory, without added N or P) and 31% (decay in stream). In most treatments, the three aquatic hyphomycete species that dominated spore production during the first 2 weeks in the stream also produced the largest numbers of conidia in the following 3 weeks. Principal-component analysis suggested two divergent trends from the initial fungal community established after 2 weeks in the stream. One culminated in the community of the second phase of stream exposure, and the other culminated in the laboratory treatment with the highest levels of N and P. The results suggest that fungal production in streams, and, by extension, production of invertebrates and higher tropic levels, is stimulated by inorganic N and P.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 63B York St., Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada E4L 1G7. Phone: (506) 364 2513. Fax: (506) 364 2505. E-mail: fbaerlocher{at}mta.ca.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2000, p. 1114-1119, Vol. 66, No. 3
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Baschien, C., Manz, W., Neu, T. R., Marvanova, L., Szewzyk, U. (2008). In Situ Detection of Freshwater Fungi in an Alpine Stream by New Taxon-Specific Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Probes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 6427-6436 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Makkonen, S., Hurri, R. S. K., Hyvarinen, M. (2007). Differential Responses of Lichen Symbionts to Enhanced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Availability: An Experiment with Cladina stellaris. ANN BOT (LOND) 99: 877-884 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Luo, Q., Krumholz, L. R., Najar, F. Z., Peacock, A. D., Roe, B. A., White, D. C., Elshahed, M. S. (2005). Diversity of the Microeukaryotic Community in Sulfide-Rich Zodletone Spring (Oklahoma). Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6175-6184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Pascoal, C., Cassio, F. (2004). Contribution of Fungi and Bacteria to Leaf Litter Decomposition in a Polluted River. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 5266-5273 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Feris, K. P., Ramsey, P. W., Frazar, C., Rillig, M., Moore, J. N., Gannon, J. E., Holben, W. E. (2004). Seasonal Dynamics of Shallow-Hyporheic-Zone Microbial Community Structure along a Heavy-Metal Contamination Gradient. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 2323-2331 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gulis, V., Suberkropp, K. (2004). Effects of whole-stream nutrient enrichment on the concentration and abundance of aquatic hyphomycete conidia in transport. Mycologia 96: 57-65 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Suberkropp, K. (2001). Fungal Growth, Production, and Sporulation during Leaf Decomposition in Two Streams. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 67: 5063-5068 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»