Marine fungi

Marine fungi are species of fungi that live in marine or estuarine environments. They are not a taxonomic group but share a common habitat. Obligate marine fungi grow exclusively in the marine habitat while wholly or sporadically submerged in sea water. Facultative marine fungi normally occupy terrestrial or freshwater habitats but are capable of living or even sporulating in a marine habitat. About 444 species of marine fungi have been described, including 7 genera and ten species of basidiomycetes, and 177 genera and 360 species of ascomycetes. The remainder of the marine fungi are chytrids and mitosporic or asexual fungi. Many species of marine fungi are known only from spores and it is likely a large number of species have yet to be discovered. It is impracticable to culture many of these fungi but their nature can be investigated by examining sea water samples and undertaking rDNA analysis of the fungal material found.

Different marine habitats support very different fungal communities. Fungi can be found in niches ranging from ocean depths and coastal waters to mangrove swamps and estuaries with low salinity levels. Marine fungi can be saprobic or parasitic on animals, saprobic or parasitic on algae, saprobic on plants or saprobic on dead wood.

Factors that influence whether or not marine fungi are present in any particular location include the water temperature, its salinity, the water movement, the presence of suitable substrates for colonization, the presence of propagules in the water, interspecific competition, pollution and the oxygen content of the water.

Some marine fungi which have ventured into the sea from terrestrial habitats include species that burrow into sand grains, living in the pores. Others live inside stony corals, and may become pathogenic if the coral is stressed by rising sea temperatures.

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