Earth Lashes Out At the Sea: terrestrial fungi can strike ocean reefs

Here's an interesting post from the Southern Fried Science blog - a blog consisting of a trio of dedicated grad students from the U.S. Carolinas. Described in this post is a type of fungus that raised havoc in the coral reefs of the Florida Keys in the late 90's. Acting like a brush fire that thins out a forest, this fungus spawned diseases that cleared out mature coral sea fans, allowing young coral with greater disease resistance to take hold.

This would seem like a natural cyclical disaster that nature could handle - much like the forest fires started by lightning. But this was a terrestrial fungus brought in by wind-borne dust from faraway continents and could also be brought in by ships or more frequent storms due to man-made climate change. So, while nature has an incredible ability to, in time, balance out the the impacts of natural disasters; mankind can accelerate those factors beyond what nature's ecosystems can handle.

Alien Invaders: coral pathogens

By Southern Fried Scientist, on July 20th, 2010

It was a story that could very easily have been written as science fiction. Gorgonian (sea fan) corals of the Florida coast were turning black and dying. The infectious culprit was something no one working on the reefs had encountered before. It was totally alien. The black rot spread across the Caribbean, decimating coral populations. By the time the contagion had been deduced, more than 50% of total sea fan tissue had been eradicated in the Florida Keys. It was one of the worst coral epidemics in recent history.

The culprit was indeed an alien, though certainly not extra-terrestrial. In fact, it was very terrestrial. Aspergillus sydowii, a globally distributed saprophytic soil fungus was the nightmare creature. Aspergillus causes a variety of diseases in humans and birds, but had not previously been recognized as a marine pathogen.

The coral epidemic lasted six years, beginning in 1997. Not surprisingly, it targeted larger, mature corals, severely reducing their biomass and impairing reproduction. Because of this predilection, the total population of gorgonia remained stable, thanks to the influx of juvenile corals from other sources. Eventually, the disease epidemic subsided, due largely to increased host resistance, but also due to the decline in large corals.

How Aspergillus was introduced into the ocean is no surprise. Fungi are prolific in their spore production and dispersal. For every cubic meter of air, there are more than 10,000 fungal spores. That’s a lot of opportunity to take hold. But there is a concept called the mycostatic effect in marine mycology. Simply put, most fungal spores do not germinate in the sea. The osmotic pressure of saltwater prevents most fungal spores from functioning. So, though prolific in numbers in the sea, fungi are not often seen as having a large ecologic contribution.

At least, that’s the conventional wisdom.

Recently other reports of fungal infection in the ocean have appeared. In the Fiji Basin anther black yeast, those this one uncharacterized, has infected mussels at a deep sea hydrothermal vent. These mussels grow black and eventually die. More then 60% of the mussels at one site were infected. How the disease spreads, and how it was transmitted to the deep sea remains a mystery.

Fungi were one of the first to colonize land, and I have a bit of a history of that event here. Only the most basal fungal forms are known to thrive in aqueous environments. So how do these more derived forms return to the sea?

The final chapter (or first chapter? I’m still getting a handle on this whole narative thing) is one that is a common thread in modern ecology. Fungal spores identical to those of the infectious Aspergillus were isolated in the Virgin Islands from layers laid down by dust storm events. These dust storm events originated on the African Coast and carried spores across the Atlantic to settle in the Caribbean. An organism of little notice (though very significant ecology) becomes a pathogen when introduced into a new environment.

We live in a global ecosystem. What happens to one place, no matter how seemingly remote, happens to us all.

~Southern Fried Scientist

From Southern Fried Science.com.

Disease Growth: as we alter the environment, watch out for the microbes

Increased levels of CO2 emissions, ocean acidification, melting polar ice - these are some of the major impacts of global warming, ones that have been brought up time and time again to warn us all of worldwide changes that need immediate corrective measures. But there are some very subtle changes also occurring; subtle and yet, if ignored, capable of delivering a measurable blow to terrestrial and marine life alike.

A recently published study highlighted one such change: expansion of fungal-based diseases in mammals. Now I know this sounds pretty obscure at first read and it certainly doesn't appear to have the attention-grabbing sensationalism of rising sea levels and increased hurricanes or tornadoes, but it does represent a real threat to many species including man.

Fungi can be a major pathogen for diseases in plants, insects, and amphibians. It does not usually pose a threat to mammals because of the complex immune systems and higher body temperature that all mammals regulate. In fact, in humans, fungi-borne diseases were not an issue until the late 20th century as a consequence of impaired immunity through medical intervention or HIV infection (in tropical Africa, there is a higher incidence of fungi-transmitted pathogens among AIDS patients because the warmer climate generates a greater variety of fungal carriers).

But the temperature gradient between most of the environment and a mammal's internal temperature acts as a protective barrier. With global warming that could all change. In the study by Monica Garcia-Solache and Arturo Casadevall in mBio magazine, the authors hypothesize that global warming will increase the geographical range of many fungi species and that these unique multi-celled organisms also have the potential for developing higher temperature tolerances, thereby thinning out the protective temperature gradient barrier between themselves and mammals.

And while we're on the subject of man-made environmental changes and disease, scientists are also looking at the ramifications to the environment from the use of phosphorous and nitrogen. There is a proper, ecologically-balanced level for these nutrients, but when it is artificially thrown out of whack, through fertilizing or waste pollution as examples, then the potential for emerging pathogens and/or diseases - including the West Nile virus, malaria, harmful algal blooms, coral reef diseases, and amphibian malformations - is magnified.

In a study published in Ecological Applications (Pieter T.J. Johnson, et al), the authors suggest that, "Interactions between nutrient enrichment and disease will become increasingly important in tropical and subtropical regions, where forecasted increases in nutrient application will occur in an environment rich with infections pathogens." They emphasize the importance of careful disease management in conjunction with anticipated continued global nutrient enrichment.

As we tamper with the earth, watch out for the big changes - but keep an eye on the little guys too.