ON THE ECOLOGY OF THE LOWER MARINE FUNGI

¹ Department of Microbiology, Yale University, New Haven 11, Connecticut

Our data therefore suggest that the lower marine fungi occupy essentially the same ecologic niche as the marine saprophytic bacteria. These fungi can be found in suitably polluted sea water in numbers of the order of 1-500,000 viable units/liter but less than 5000/liter in more open waters of Woods Hole. The fungus count increases, as has long been noted for bacteria (Gazert, 1906), in the presence of macroscopic algae. They also resemble marine bacteria in their association with surfaces. As a group, these fungi differ from marine bacteria in being strongly aerobic. One may justifiably wonder as to the basis of their success in competition with bacteria in this niche. Studies, now in progress, of the individual species of fungi concerned may clarify this question.