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Microbial degradation of leaf litter in freshwater streams: effect of low pH – abstract

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

Anne-Carole Chamier
Anne-Carole Chamier
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, Huntersdale, Callow Hill, Virginia Water, Surrey GU25 4LN, U.K.

Extract

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Many freshwater streams are predominantly heterotrophic, the energy source for all trophic levels of the biota being derived from allochthonous plant litter that is degraded by saprotrophic micro-organisms. Leaves falling into streams have most of their soluble constituents leached out within twenty-four hours of submersion. Few of the resident terrestrial saprotrophs survive in the aquatic environment and the leaves are rapidly colonised by freshwater fungi, particularly aquatic hyphomycetes (Chamier & Dixon 1982a; Chamier et al. 1984). These fungi produce all the enzymes required to degrade the structural polysaccharides of leaf cell walls and those of resident terrestrial fungi. Some species can degrade lignified tissue (Chamier & Dixon 1982b; Chamier 1985). Little is known of the enzymic capabilities of freshwater bacteria.

Type
Abstract
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 94: Fungi and Ecological Disturbance , 1988 , pp. 107 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1988

References

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