Differences between white and grey dunes in abundance and species richness of discomycetes on ammophila arenaria, and a study of intraspecific variation in Albotricha acutipila

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out how discomycetes growing on European Marram grass, Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link, are distributed in relation to white and grey dunes. The result indicates that discomycetes are more common in the white dune area, but the difference was not statistically significant. The study also includes a genetic study of intraspecific variation in the species Albotricha acutipila (P. Karsten) Raitv., based on the ITS region. A Parsimony analysis of an alignment of sequences from forty-one samples collected at Tönnersa strand on the Swedish west coast showed no genetic difference in their ITS sequence. Two Japanese sequences of Albotricha acutipila, one sequence of Albotricha albotestacea (Desm.) Raitv. and three sequences of Albotricha sp. were included in the analysis and they all differed from the samples collected in this study.

Popular Abstract

The Beach life of Cup Fungi

Biological research has increased our knowledge of the number of species and the life of plants and animals. When it comes to fungi there appear to be many species yet undiscovered and still many questions about the life of fungi to be answered. A great number of small fungi are probably unknown to many. If you look closer at a decaying branch or leaf you may find several kinds of colorful fungi. I decided to look closer on one group of such small fungi: the cup fungi growing on decaying leaves of the common beach grass European Marram grass.

When you look for plants or animals on a beach among the sand dunes you find that some species are found on sand dunes close to the sea, where the wind and the waves cause erosion of sand, and others are found on dunes further from the sea. There are many kinds of small cup fungi living on decaying grass plants among the sand dunes. What about these small fungi, are they to be found close to the sea or further from the sea? Is there a difference in the species composition of cup fungi between the outer and inner sand dunes?

I found that, in contrast to many animals and plants, cup fungi seem to occur on sand dunes all over the beach area, regardless of the distance to the sea. Could it be that this is typical of many fungi – different conditions do not affect their distribution so much, opposite to other organisms? Perhaps they are more dependent on different stages of decay of the plant species they grow on.

Genetic difference within the fungus
My study area was Tönnersa strand, which is a three kilometer long beach on the Swedish west coast. The most common small cup fungi on European Marram grass was Albotricha acutipila. It was spread all over the three kilometer long beach area. Is there likely to be any genetic difference between all these small individuals of fungi among the sand dunes? I did a genetic analysis and could not find any difference at all in the gene sequence I studied. However, when I compared the samples I had collected to samples of the same species collected by researchers in Japan, I found a genetic difference so big that the collected samples actually seem to be from a different species.




Advisors: Ulf Arup and Pål Axel Olsson
Master´s Degree Project 30 credits in Biology 2015
Department of Biology, Lund University

• author: Ranebo, Per
• supervisor: Ulf Arup
• organization: Degree Projects in Biology
• course: BIOM01 20142
• year: 2015
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Biology and Life Sciences
• language: English
• id: 5425835
• date added to LUP: 2015-05-21 15:44:06
• date last changed: 2015-05-21 15:44:06