In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Perspectives on Marine Environment Change in Hong Kong and Southern China, 1977-2001 (ed . B. Morton). Proceedings o f a n Internationa l Worksho p Reunio n Conference, Hon g Kong 21-26 Octobe r 2001. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press , 2003. BIODIVERSITY O F MARINE FUNGI IN HONG KON G COASTAL WATER S E. B . Garet h Jone s an d Lilia n L . P . Vrijmoe d Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University o f Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kon g ABSTRACT Surveys of the biodiversity of marine and mangrove fungi in Hong Kong coastal waters yielded 16 6 specie s (10 4 ascomycetes , 5 3 mitosporic fungi , 3 basidiomycetes an d 6 straminipilous organisms) . Eightee n o f thes e specie s ar e new . Th e Cit y Universit y Culture Collection of Hong Kong maintains 4,800 strains of marine fungi either on agar slopes o r i n 10 % glycero l a t -80°C . Variou s aspect s o f thei r taxonomy , ecology , physiology an d biochemistry , ar e reviewed. Thei r potentia l commercia l developmen t for th e production o f enzymes , bioactive compound s an d omega- 3 fatt y acid s is als o highlighted. A lis t o f th e marin e fung i recorde d fro m Hon g Kon g wit h th e substrat a they gro w on is included. INTRODUCTION Fungi are probably the least well-known group of marine organisms, although they were reported a s long ag o as 184 9 when Desmazieres (1849 ) described Sphaeria scirpicola var. typharum (no w Phaeosphaeria typharum). Chromistan or straminipilous organism s and chytrid s (lowe r fungi ) wer e studie d a s earl y a s 186 5 wit h th e descriptio n o f Chytridium polysiphoniae b y Coh n (1865) . Most o f thes e early observation s wer e o n species parasitic on either microalgae or marine animals: iMgendium oophilum on rotifers (Sparrow 1936) , and Rhizophydium coicola on Codium mucronatum (Zelle r 1918). The impetus fo r thei r stud y aros e fro m th e wor k o f Sparro w o n chytrid s an d Thraustochytriales i n th e earl y 1930' s an d o n th e discover y o f a divers e mycot a o n marine driftwood b y Barghoorn and Linder (1944). However, it was a number of years before furthe r publication s o n these organisms appeare d (Wilso n 1951 ; Meyers 1953 ; Hohnk 1954 ; Johnson 1956) . Since that time there has been steady progress in recording 76 E.B.G. JONES & L.L.P. VRIJMOED marine fungal diversit y with the publication of a series of books on the subject (Johnso n and Sparro w 1961 ; Jones 1976 ; Kohlmeyer an d Kohlmeye r 1979 ; Hyde an d Pointin g 2000). NUMBERS O F MARINE FUNG I AND STRAMINIPILOUS ORGANISM S For the purpose of this paper we will use the term fungi i n the broadest sense to include true fungi, chytrids and straminipilous organisms. The estimated number of marine fungi in 1961 was 235 (Johnson and Sparrow 1961) , while Kohlmeyer and Kohlmeyer (1979 ) listed 20 9 filamentous highe r marin e fungi, 17 7 yeasts an d less than 10 0 lower fungi . Jones an d Mitchel l (1996 ) estimate d th e figur e t o b e 1,41 4 wit h som e 70 0 doubtful , poorly described and new species. Hyde et al. (2000) put the number of obligate higher marine fungi a t 444 (whic h is already ou t of date), while no true estimate is availabl e for facultative marin e fungi. There is also no accurate figure for the lower marine fung i (Jones an d Mitchel l 1996). New gener a an d specie s continu e t o be describe d a s ne w substrata an d geographica l location s ar e examine d fo r thes e uniquel y adapte d fungi : Halosarpheia unicellularis (Abdel-Waha b et al. 2001) , Trichocladium melhae (Jone s et al. 2001) . Schauman n (1993 ) ha s predicte d tha t th e tota l numbe r o f obligat e an d facultative marin e fungi wil l exceed 6,00 0 species . AVAILABILITY O F SUBSTRATA I N THE MARINE ECOSYSTE M Marine fung i ca n coloniz e a wid...

Share