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Fungal parasitism of the diatom Asterionella formosa Hassall (Bacillariophyceae) by Chytridiomycota

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2009

C. Bertrand ,
A. Couté  and
A. Cazaubon
C. Bertrand
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 6116 - IMEP, Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Eaux Continentales Méditerranéennes, Université Aix-Marseille III, case C31, 13397 MARSEILLE cedex 20, France
A. Couté
Affiliation:
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, USM 505, 12, rue Buffon, 75231 Paris cedex 05, France
A. Cazaubon
Affiliation:
UMR CNRS 6116 - IMEP, Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Eaux Continentales Méditerranéennes, Université Aix-Marseille III, case C31, 13397 MARSEILLE cedex 20, France
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Abstract

Many freshwater algae are parasitized by aquatic fungi belonging to the Chytridiales Order. The top-down effects of parasitism result in individual losses within algal populations. We present data on the parasitism of the diatom Asterionella formosa Hassall by chytrids, occurring in response to hydrodynamic disturbances and the architecture of the algal host on the landscape scale. Among a series of nine reservoirs, the observed pattern of parasitism depends on the levels of hydrodynamic disturbance: the rate of parasitism is higher at intermediate disturbance levels. A. formosa cells are not randomly parasitized. Whatever the disturbance levels, fungi were found to mostly parasitize cell clusters forming non-stellate colonies.

Keywords

freshwater diatomchytridshydrodynamic disturbancelandscapeparasitism
Type
Research Article
Information
Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , March 2004 , pp. 63 - 69
Copyright
© Université Paul Sabatier, 2004

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