Pisonia grandis does not appear to harbour fungi known to invade sea turtle nests at Heron Island, Eastern Australia

2 Pages·2001·0.61 MB·English

by  A D Phillott

HRIHr COMMUNICATION
WSOiWA GRANDIS DOES NO APPEAR TO HARBOUR EUN(il KNOWN TO INVADE
I
SEA TURTLE NESTS AT HERON ISLAND, EASTERN AUSTRALIA
Hatching success of loggerhead sea untie ncsb is Hstrtiitt xntHtli.s is often associated with islands
significantly Inwci at Heron I. (2^-2W S, 151'-5^' I*; Itosliug pigeons, ganncls (Silh spp.l or noddy term
Capricorn Group, soulhern Great Barrier Reef), than (Anmts spp). If the bud colonics desert the islands.
on the adjacent mainland', fungal invasion appears forwhatever reason, the P. gauulis forest disappears
loplay a major role in inlcr-spcedic nnd inler-habiiat as it seems unable to survive wiihoui Ibe phosphate
variation in egg mortalily between loggerhead clinched sotf thai aids germination ami early devel
\Catvlla catxtla L.) and green iCheloma mxdas \..\ optnenf-liis believed P. gnmdh utilises seuhuds lot
sea turtles al coral eay ami mainland rookeries . and epi/ote dispersul\ although this has been disputed'*.
hawkshill \tirctmovhclys imhn\nla I..) ant! Outback Previously, the only fundus associated with /'
{Natdfur tltjpnY\'ti\ Garman) turtles at other major ^ra'uih at He-ton I. was ,\\\ unidentified basid
rookenes in eastern Australia iomycele cetomveorrhi/ui sytnbii>nr This fungus
,
The fungi f'uMirutnt ovy*;p<>ntin Schlecht-, /• appeals to be unique lo /* xtwufis or al least have a
soliitu (Man.) Suce. and P\t'ii<ltiif(>\rlieriit hffydk limited Iioslrange1', andcould not beoneofthe thivr
Negroni and Fischer have been isolated from failed tunic nest mvcollota reported' as none ofthese is u
lUi'Ue egg^ al Heron [." PsetuiaHiWclwriu hoytlit is basidiomyeele.
an opportunistic infectanl of humans and other To determine whether P. ^m/u/is harboured unv ot
animals' but there is no recoil; ofus being involved the lungal species isolated Irom failed egg* in sen
in plant disease- However, numerous strains of /''. lurlle ncsls, five individual /' ^rant/is trees at Uu*
t>A\sih/run) are wilt pathogens and p. salutii nvy Heron Island Research Slation. whose foliage
cause root rol. canker and wilts', Since one of the showed anthracnoses. were examined- Two leaves
most distinguishingfeaturesofHeron I. isthe dense, from each tree were collected and washed with
central Pisnnitt xratulis R. Br. forest, it seems possi- sterile, distilled water to remove bird guano before
ble that this might be acting as a reservoir tor refrigeratedstorage, Leaffragments Icnr't were sur
anthriknose Hisaflu which arc also able 10 iiivtide face sterilised in \f/r AgNO? for 2 m(m then rinsed in
sea lurlle nests. 5f/r NitGI for I min A final wash in sterile distilled
In its wild state /' gn/m//,v iNycUiginueeae) is water for2 min was undertaken to remove any resid
almost exclusively confined lo small uninhabited uu.! stivercations fragments were cultured as a cen
islands with large seahird colonies', throughout Hie trat moculuin on half-strength Potato Dextrose Agai
Indian and Pacific Oceans'" K '. In the Capricoi 1/ at 2S" C lot 7 days prior to identification-
Bunker group ofthe soulhern Great Barrier Reef. /! C<'llvtotritiutnt g/r><v»,s/'c/7V»/V/r\ (Pen/.) Pen/, and
Xratults is found on all of the islands. A central Sacc. was isolated from all leaf Iragments with leaf
forest is usually surrounded by natural fringing veg- spots, Culture of unblemished Iragments did not
etation, although erosion may bring the forest lo lite result m any fungal growth. Colk'iotnL-hitiii is one ol
beachfront. The presence of such forests appears the most important genera ot plant pathogenic fungi
heavily reliant upon abundant seabnds and a specif- worldwide'"' and can affect stems, shoots, fruit, pods,
ic soil and rock base' ''. The Jemo Series'" are rich y floweis and leaves1'1. It has not been isolated Iron'.
organic, acidic, phusphatic, soils in association w h failed sea turtleeggsand soit seems unlikely that the
a hardpan or coral conglomerate transformed into P, \*rwufi\ forest tit Heron Maud is hosting fungi
calcium phosphate". This udaphie condition ucci.ms likely to have an adverse effect on sea turtle nests.
only on o»ial and ci>ral debris beneath bird colonics* R. Shivas. Queensland Department o( Primary
and is almost exclusive lo forests dominated by R Industries, is thanked for the identification ol (
,t,w//<//.vtor g/omyw>/V/r.s.
\ t> I'iihi<>!r iiumuhl,
70
Eimpus, C. J., Reed, P. & Miller, J. D. (1983) *Hunt, D.R. (1967) Kew Bull. 21,251.
Islands and turtles. The influence ofchoice of nest- "Cribb,A. B. (1969) Qld Nat. 19, 1 10-114.
ing beach on sex ratio pp. 397-402 hi Baker, J. T., "'Fosberg, F. R. (1954) Soil Sci. 78, 99-107.
Carter. R. M., Sammarco, P. W. & Stark, K. P. (Eds) " Christophersen, E. (1927) Bishop Mus. Bull. 44,
"Proceedings: Inaugural Great Barrier Reef 1-79.
Conference, Townsville, Aug. 28-Sept. 2" (JCL) 12Walker, T. A. 1991 Aloll Res. Bull. 350, 1-23.
Press. Townsville). "Ashford, A. E(. & A)llaway, W. G. (1982) New
:Phillott, A. D„ Parmenter, C. J. & Eimpus, C. J. Phylol. 90, 511-519.
(2001) Chel. Conserv. Biol. In Press. 14Cairney, J. W. G., Rees, B. J.,Allaway,W. G. &
Rippon, J. W. (1982). "Medical Mycology. The Ashford,A. E. (1994) Ibid. 126, 91 98.
Pathogenic Fungi and the PathogenicActinomyeeles \Sutton,B.C. ( I992)TheGenus Glomerellaand its
2"a Edn" (W. B. Saunders and Co., Philadelphia). anamorph CoUetolrkhum pp. 1-26 In Bailey, J. A. &
4 Booth, C- (1971) "The Genus FusariunT Jeger, M. J. (Eds) "Colletolrichum: Biology.
(Commonwealth Mycological Institute. Surrey). Pathology and Control*1 (CAB International,
5"AStirJyohSnh,awH,.H<.19K5.1)(W19e5b2b)iaKe8,w2B2u5l-l2.281.952, 87-97. W1alDloidndgf,orJd.).C, Estrada, A. & Jeger, M. J. (1992)
7Stemmerik, J, F. (1964) Flora Malesiana ^nr. 6, Epidemiology of Colleiotrichum xioeosporioidvs in
450-468. the tropics pp. 308-325 Ibid.
ANDREA D, PHILLOTT, School ofBiological and Environmental Sciences, Central Queensland University
Rockhampton QUI 4702. E-mail: phillota(«Hopa/.cqu.edu.au