Fungal communities Dr. James T. Hollibaugh University of Georgia

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

aquadoc@uga.edu http://www.marsci.uga.edu/directory/james-t-hollibaugh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8037-160X Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

gcelter@uga.edu https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/ Dr. James T. Hollibaugh University of Georgia

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

aquadoc@uga.edu http://www.marsci.uga.edu/directory/james-t-hollibaugh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8037-160X Principal investigator Dr. Merryl Alber University of Georgia

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

malber@uga.edu https://marsci.uga.edu/directory/people/merryl-alber https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9467-4449 Co-investigator Justine I. Lyons University of Georgia

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

jlyons@uga.edu Graduate research assistant 2026

J. Lyons (Ph.D. student, UGA) worked with J.T. Hollibaugh (UGA) and M. Alber (UGA) to characterize ascomycetes involved in the decomposition of several Spartina species collected from salt marshes along the east, Gulf, and west coasts. In California, the fungi associated with S. alterniflora, S. foliosa, the hybrid between them, and S. densiflora were all characterized using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rRNA genes as well as clone libraries. Although we found no effect from the hybridization of two host species, we did see significant differences in the fungal decomposer communities both within and among species. S. densiflora hosted several unique ascomycetes. Two previously described ascomycetes, Phaeosphaeria spartinicola and Mycosphaerella, were ubiquitous on all samples analyzed. On the east coast, ascomycete communities on samples of S. alterniflora and S. patens collected in four states (Georgia, North Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts) were compared, again using T-RFLP analysis of the interspacer region. Results show that diversity of the ascomycete taxa on S. patens hosts a higher number of unique ascomycete species than S. alterniflora, and that it has significantly higher diversity, but there were no consistent differences among states. P. spartinicola and Mycosphaerella again dominated most T-RFLP profiles. Preliminary data from samples of the same species of grass collected in states along the Gulf coast (FL, LA, MS, AL) confirm all conclusions drawn for samples collected along the east coast, including the higher diversity on S. patens, and omnipresence of P. spartinicola and P. halima.

Question 2: How do the spatial and temporal patterns of biogeochemical processes, primary production, community dynamics, decomposition, and disturbance vary across the estuarine landscape, and how do they relate to environmental gradients? (more information)

LTER NSF Alabama California Florida Georgia Louisiana Massachusetts Mississippi New York North Carolina GCE Spartina ascomycetes fungi salt marshes T-RFLP Overall geographic extent of the research project -81.759763 -81.119291 31.771190 30.892711 2003-09-01 2007-06-01

National Science Foundation grant numbers OCE-9982133

estuary marsh complex Central Georgia Coast - Central Georgia coastal region from the South Newport River (northern extent) to the Satilla River (southern extent), and from the outer banks of the barrier islands (eastern extent) to approximately 35km inland (western extent) -81.759763 -81.119291 31.771190 30.892711 Lyons, J.I., Alber, M. and Hollibaugh, J.T. 2010. Ascomycete fungal communities associated with early decaying leaves of Spartina spp. from central California estuaries. Oecologica. 162:435-442. (DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1460-4) http://www.springerlink.com/content/t7186704g8100t51/ Lyons, J.I. 2007. Molecular description of ascomycete fungal communities on Spartina spp. in the U.S. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/files/pubs/Justine_Lyons_PhD_2007.pdf Lyons, J.I., Alber, M. and Hollibaugh, J.T. 2006. Poster: Molecular comparison of ascomycete fungal communities on Spartina species found along the east, west, and Gulf coasts of the U.S. Southeastern Estuarine Research Society. March 30-April 1, 2006, St. Augustine, Florida. Lyons, J., Alber, M. and Hollibaugh, J.T. 2006. Poster: Molecular comparison of ascomycete fungal communities on Spartina species found along the east, west, and Gulf coasts of the U.S. LTER All Scientists Meeting, September 20-24, 2006, Estes Park, Colorado. FNG-GCEM-0401 - Fall 2003 fungal monitoring -- marshgrass ergosterol content and ascospore release rates at 10 GCE sampling sites https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=180 FNG-GCEM-0301 - Fall 2002 fungal monitoring -- marshgrass ergosterol content and ascospore release rates at 10 GCE sampling sites https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=29 FNG-GCEM-0112 - Fall 2001 fungal monitoring -- marshgrass ergosterol content and ascospore release rates at 10 GCE sampling sites https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=9 FNG-GCEM-0102 - Fall 2000 fungal monitoring -- marshgrass ergosterol content and ascospore release rates at 10 GCE sampling sites https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=4