International study stresses the urgent need to protect aquatic fungi
by the University of Coimbra
June 6, 2022
An international study, in which the University of Coimbra (UC) has participated, argues that the conservation of aquatic fungi has not been given due importance, and needs to be urgently recognised as a management priority.
The study has been published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, and focused on the role of aquatic fungi, the threats they face and the means available for their protection. The research, led by scientists of the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and had the participation of Susana C. Gonçalves of the Centre for Functional Ecology of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of e University of Coimbra (FCTUC).
It is known that aquatic fungi play a fundamental role in food chains, nutrient cycles, matter and energy, and in water purification. However, as Susana C. Gonçalves highlights, “like other organisms that tend to be discrete and often invisible to the naked eye, society mostly neglects them and forgets their enormous importance in the support and stability of aquatic ecosystems”.
Keep reading: https://www.uc.pt/en/article?key=a-35ddfd04e8
Read the Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2495