Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota: Volume I, Biodiversity

5. Free-Living, Saprobic, Filamentous Fungi of the Gulf of Mexico

The definition of marine fungi is rather imprecise and is based on habitat. Obligate marine fungi include species able to grow and sporulate exclusively in the marine or estuarine environment; facultative marine species may grow in marine, freshwater, or terrestrial habitats, but range into marine environments. The obligate marine fungiareconsideredbymanyworkerstobeanecologically defined group of micromycetes that play an active role in ecological function of the marine system (Kohlmeyer and Kohlmeyer 1979, Hyde, Sarma, and Jones 2000, Sakayaroj et al. 2004). On the other hand, while there are published records of possible marine facultative fungi, many cannot be included in this checklist because their marine status has not yet been demonstrated. In other words, it cannot be shown irrefutably that those fungi can complete their life cycle in the marine environment, and their ecological roles there may be limited. The ecological group covered in this chapter includes taxa treated as saprobic, filamentous, obligate marine fungi formerly considered as organisms of the kingdom Fungi; it excludes yeasts, though some are recorded from marine habitats of the Gulf of Mexico. The marine fungi are considered an ecologically defined group of micromycetes that includes the species able to both grow and sporulate in the marine environment, while playing an active role in marine system processes (Kohlmeyer and Kohlmeyer 1979, Hyde, Sarma, and Jones 2000, Sakayaroj et al. 2004). These obligate marine microfungi inhabit practically all coastal and oceanic environments, where they live as saprobes, symbionts, and parasites. Their main ecological function is as saprobes that contribute to the process of remineralization of the nutrients. They can occur as saprobes on different types of substrate, especially those rich in lignin, cellulose, or chitin (e.g., calcareous molluscan and crustacean exoskeletons, keratinaceous substrates, plant material associated with sand grains on beaches, driftwood, algae and seaweeds, seagrasses , and roots, stems, leaves, fruits, seeds of mangrove and other vascular plants). They are also potential sources of novel bioactive metabolites that may have biotechnological applications. Jones (1993) noted that there is little evidence of marine fungi species being restricted to countries or continents and that their biogeographical distributions tend to be pantemperate and pantropical. Distribution is mainly determined by water temperature, but some marine fungi 81 5 Free-Living, Saprobic, Filamentous Fungi of the Gulf of Mexico María C. González  Fungi. Modified by F. Moretzsohn from photograph by M. González. 82 ~ Free-Living, Saprobic, Filamentous Fungi Pontogeneia cubensis in Havana Bay, and more data for the GMx accumulated over the following years (Kohlmeyer 1968, 1975, 1980, Wagner-Merner 1972, Kohen 1979, 1985, González et al. 1998, Enríquez and González 2000, Enríquez, Chávez, and González 2001, González, Hanlin, and Ulloa 2001, González et al. 2003). The marine fungi as a group were not included in the last review of Gulf of Mexico biodiversity, “Bulletin 89,” because this treatment was published in 1954. Even now, the mycodiversity of the GMx is still being investigated, and the present contribution can only give a current state of knowledge for diversity within this specialized group of fungi. The tabular species checklist includes 54 marine fungi belonging in more than 31 genera. The data are compiled from formally published papers and abstracts. The fungi listed are divided into ascomycetes, anamorphic ascomycetes , and basidiomycetes, including taxon, habitat/biology , overall geographic range, GMx range, and references. Attemps have been made to update fungus names. For recently synonymized species, only current names are listed, based on the Index Fungorum of the CABI Bioscience Database. Abbreviations List of definitions of the abbreviations used in the marine fungi checklist: Atl = Atlantic Ocean; bns = bay and nearshore ; bsl = beach and shoreline; end = endemic solely to Gulf of Mexico; est = estuarine; GMx = Gulf of Mexico; Ind = Indian Ocean; itd = intertidal to semiterrestrial; Med = Mediterranean Sea; msp = mangrove swamp; Pac = Pacific Ocean; par = parasitic; sft = soft substrates (mud, sands, clays); sgr = seagrass; smr = saltmarsh. References 1. Enríquez, D., M. E. Chávez, and M. C. González. 2001. Marine fungi in foraminifera. Contribution to Environmental Protection and Education, Havana, Cuba. 2. Enríquez, D., and M. C. González. 2000. New records for marine Cuban mycobiota. Abstracts of the V Ocean Science Congress, Havana, Cuba. 3. González, M. C., D. Enríquez, M. Ulloa, and R. T. Hanlin. 2003. A preliminary survey of marine fungi from Cuba. Mycotaxon 87: 457–465. 4. González, M. C., R. T. Hanlin, and M. Ulloa. 2001. A checklist of higher marine fungi of...