Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Fungus outbreak hits Alabama marshes
Published: Monday, December 13, 2010, 8:00 AM
A widespread fungal outbreak is affecting one of Alabama's key marsh grass species, potentially rendering much of this year's seed crop sterile, according to scientists.
While the fungus is always present in coastal marshes, scientists speculated that repeated exposure to oil sheens from the Gulf of Mexico spill floating on Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay this spring and summer might have played a role in the outbreak by reducing the natural resistance of the marsh plants to the disease. It is also possible that other factors, such as an ongoing drought, played a more important role than oil, they said.
There are records of the fungus in Alabama and Mississippi marshes dating to 1895, and the scientific literature describes some years where every seed was lost to the fungus, said Judy Stout, who has studied the Gulf's coastal marshes since 1972.
Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/12/fungus_outbreak_hits_alabama_m.html
Published: Monday, December 13, 2010, 8:00 AM
A widespread fungal outbreak is affecting one of Alabama's key marsh grass species, potentially rendering much of this year's seed crop sterile, according to scientists.
While the fungus is always present in coastal marshes, scientists speculated that repeated exposure to oil sheens from the Gulf of Mexico spill floating on Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay this spring and summer might have played a role in the outbreak by reducing the natural resistance of the marsh plants to the disease. It is also possible that other factors, such as an ongoing drought, played a more important role than oil, they said.
There are records of the fungus in Alabama and Mississippi marshes dating to 1895, and the scientific literature describes some years where every seed was lost to the fungus, said Judy Stout, who has studied the Gulf's coastal marshes since 1972.
Read more:
http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/12/fungus_outbreak_hits_alabama_m.html