Abstract
Marine fungi on the whole remain understudied, especially in the highly diverse Southeast Asian region. We investigated the fungal communities associated with the mangrove tree Avicennia alba throughout Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. At each sampling location, we examined ten individual trees, collecting leaves, fruits, pneumatophores, and an adjacent sediment sample from each plant. Amplicon sequencing of the fungal internal transcribed spacer 1 and subsequent analyses reveal significant differences in fungal communities collected from different locations and host structures. Mantel tests and multiple regression on distance matrices show a significant pattern of distance decay with samples collected close to one another having more similar fungal communities than those farther away. Submergence appears to drive part of the variation as host structures that are never submerged (leaves and fruits) have more similar fungal communities relative to those that are covered by water during high tide (pneumatophores and sediment). We suggest that fungi of terrestrial origins dominate structures that are not inundated by tidal regimes, while marine fungi dominate mangrove parts and sediments that are submerged by the incoming tide. Given the critical functions fungi play in all plants, and the important role they can have in determining the success of restoration schemes, we advocate that fungal community composition should be a key consideration in any mangrove restoration or rehabilitation project.
Highlights
In comparison to terrestrial fungi, marine fungi are poorly understood and frequently overlooked (Gladfelter et al, 2019)
In 2011, only 537 obligate marine fungal taxa had been identified (Jones, 2011), but today that number is considered a gross underestimate of fungal diversity in marine systems, with conservative estimates suggesting that there may be over 10,000 fungal taxa in marine environments waiting to be discovered (Jones, 2011; Amend et al, 2019)
The Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) plot showing all sampled compartments suggests that fungal communities associated with the mangrove plant A. alba can be differentiated according to region, location within region and structure sampled
Summary
In comparison to terrestrial fungi, marine fungi are poorly understood and frequently overlooked (Gladfelter et al, 2019) This tendency to focus on terrestrial ecosystems over marine habitats may be a consequence of early marine mycological work. Mangrove Associated Fungal Communities as those found in terrestrial environments (Amend et al, 2019) This assumption is beginning to be challenged by recent work documenting fungi in every marine habitat studied to date, from shallow coastal habitats, to mesophotic coral reefs, to the deep sea across the globe, and from the tropics to polar seas (Amend et al, 2012; Amend, 2014; Yarden, 2014; Wainwright et al, 2017, 2018; Gladfelter et al, 2019). Understanding the role and distribution of marine fungi is becoming a pressing concern, especially when viewed in the light of rapid climate change and how oceans will respond
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
