Freshwater fungi are a poorly studied paraphyletic group that include a high diversity of phyla. Most studies of aquatic fungal diversity have focussed on single habitats, thus the linkage between habitat heterogeneity and fungal diversity remains largely unexplored. We took 216 samples from 54 locations representing eight different habitats in meso-oligotrophic, temperate Lake Stechlin in nort...

Our view of how water quality effects ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is largely framed by observed or expected responses of large benthic organisms (corals, algae, seagrasses) to enhanced levels of dissolved nutrients, sediments and other pollutants in reef waters. In the case of nutrients, however, benthic organisms and communities are largely responding to materials which have cyc...

Larvae of intertidal species develop at sea and must return to adult habitats to replenish populations. Similarly, nutrients, detritus and plankton provide important subsidies spurring growth and reproduction of macroalgae and filter-feeding invertebrates that form the foundation of intertidal communities. Together, these factors determine the density and intensity of interactions among communi...

Biological production of the volatile compound dimethylsulfide in the ocean is the main natural source of tropospheric sulfur on a global scale, with important consequences for the radiative balance of the Earth. In the late 1980s, a Gaian feedback link between marine phytoplankton and climate through the release of atmospheric sulfur was hypothesized. However, the idea of microalgae producing ...

Seamounts are considered to be "hotspots" of marine life but, their role in oceans primary productivity is still under discussion. We have studied the microbial community structure and biomass of the epipelagic zone (0-150 m) at two northeast Atlantic seamounts (Seine and Sedlo) and compared those with the surrounding ocean. Results from two cruises to Sedlo and three to Seine are presented. Ma...