Ecological communities of Aotearoa / New Zealand species threatened by myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii (G. Winter) Beenken): The flora and mycobiota of the endemic genus Lophomyrtus Burret
- Author:
- Prasad M., Schmid L.M.H., Marshall A.J., Blanchon D.J., Renner M.A.M., Baba Y., Padamsee M., & de Lange P.J.
- Year:
- 2022
- Journal:
- Perspectives in Biosecurity
- Pages:
- 7: 34–70
- Url:
- https://doi.org/10.34074/pibs.00703
The invasive rust Austropuccinia psidii, responsible
for myrtle rust disease, poses a serious threat to the
New Zealand Myrtaceae. Since the 2017 detection of
Austropuccinia psidii in Aotearoa / New Z ealand, the
rust has spread rapidly, resulting in the decline and
death of a range of indigenous Myrtaceae, most notably
the two species of the endemic genus Lophomyrtus,
ramarama (L. bullata) and rōhutu (L. obcordata). While
the threat Austropuccinia psidii poses to Lophomyrtus
is now widely recognised, the indirect impact the rust
has on the associated biota is poorly understood.
Very little has been documented about the biota found
in association with Lophomyrtus. To rectify this, we
undertook a survey of the specimens held in three of
the key Aotearoa / New Zealand herbaria that had been
collected from Lophomyrtus. This was supplemented
by field work in eight sites in western Te Ika a Maui /
North Island, and north-western Te Wai Pounamu /
South Island of Aotearoa / New Zealand. Although the
herbarium searches located few specimens, and field
work was limited to a few sample points within the range
of Lophomyrtus, we found 221 taxa associated with
Lophomyrtus, 176 taxa on ramarama, 81 on rōhutu and
one on the naturally occurring hybrid between these two
species Lophomyrtus ×ralphii. Of the 176 taxa found on
ramarama, 59 are bryophytes (one hornwort, 33 liverworts
and 25 mosses), five pteridophytes, 16 spermatophytes
and 96 are lichenised mycobiota. Rōhutu supported 81
taxa: comprising one cyanobacterium, one alga, twentynine
bryophytes (17 liverworts and 12 mosses), four
pteridophytes, two spermatophytes and 44 lichenised
mycobiota. Wild populations of Lophomyrtus ×ralphii
were not investigated, and herbarium searches only
disclosed one plant, the mistletoe Korthalsella lindsayi,
associated with it. Several lichens and liverworts
collected from Lophomyrtus represent potentially new
species, and Lepra erythrella is a new addition to the
lichenised mycobiota of Aotearoa / New Zealand. None
of the putative new species are endemic to Lophomyrtus.
- Id:
- 34813
- Submitter:
- zdenek
- Post_time:
- Monday, 05 December 2022 09:18