The epiphytic fern Microgramma squamulosa occurs in the Neotropics and shows dimorphic sterile and fertile leaves. The present study aimed to describe and compare qualitatively and quantitatively macroscopic and microscopic structural characteristics of the dimorphic leaves of M. squamulosa, to point more precisely those characteristics which may contribute to epiphytic adaptations. In June 200...

The extractive exploitation of the tree fern Alsophila setosa Kaulf. alters forest formations and diminishes the availability of micro-habitat for epiphytes. A survey of epiphytic fern communities on A. setosa at 16 study sites in different forest formations in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, documented the occurrence of 31 species representing 16 genera and six families. The greatest r...

Macroalgae are photosynthetic, multicellular, sessile eukaryotic organisms that offer diverse habitats for the colonization of epiphytic bacteria, therefore establishing biological interactions of diverse complexity. This review focusses on the interactions between macroalgae and their Epiphytic Bacterial Community (EBC); the main aims are to ascertain whether (1) the epiphytic bacterial groups...

Tropical ferns are characterized by a high diversity of plant life forms, yet there have been few largescale studies on the functional ecology of these diVerent forms. We examined epiphytic, hemiepiphytic, and terrestrial ferns, and asked whether there are diVerences in the mineral nutrition and water relations across diVerent growth forms of a diverse assemblage of species. We measured speciWc...

1 2 Okadaic acid (OA) is a diarrhetic shellfish poison (DSP) produced by a number of marine organisms including the benthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima, which are often found on seagrass. As seagrass forms the basis of the diet of dugong ( 3 4 Dugong dugon) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas), these herbivores may potentially be exposed to OA through ingestion of 5 P. lima found on the seagr...

the algae of gargar river (one of branches of karoon river) which were investigated in samples collected from habitats (epilithic, epiphytic, epipelic) at eleven station between december 2004 and september 2005.this river receive types of sewage such as municipal wastewater, agriculture and aquaculture wastewater the flora consisted of 5 class and 24 genera belonging to the bacillariophycea (12...

Adaptive evolution has often been proposed to explain correlations between habitats and certain phenotypes. In mosses, a high frequency of species with specialized sporophytic traits in exposed or epiphytic habitats was, already 100 years ago, suggested as due to adaptation. We tested this hypothesis by contrasting phylogenetic and morphological data from two moss families, Neckeraceae and Lemb...

Macroalgae are a diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic lower organisms and offer indispensable ecosystem services toward sustainable productivity of rocky coastal areas. The earlier studies have mainly focused on elucidation of the roles of the epiphytic bacterial communities in the ecophysiology of the host macroalga. However, mutualistic interactions have become topic of current interest...