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Sedimentation velocity of myxomycete spores

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Abstract

Sedimentation velocities were measured for seven myxomycete species and one fungus. Values for these first measurements for Myxomycetes were fitted with the formula of Stoke’s law for the terminal velocity of small spherical bodies in air. The obtained correlation coefficient of R=0.939 indicates that sedimentation velocities of myxomycete spores follow Stoke’s law well. With spore density as a parameter, the fit estimated a mean density of 0.74 g/cm3 for air-dried spores. The importance of the stalked spore case as well as the spore diameter for dispersal abilities of Myxomycetes is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

For help with the design of the experimental setting to determine sedimentation velocities, we are indebted to Holger Kersten. Thomas Horn and Uwe Rediek manufactured the glass cylinders for the sedimentation experiments. Bernd Pompe, Gerald van den Boogaart and Jörn Winter gave useful hints for the evaluation of the sedimentation data. We also owe thanks to numerous graduate students who contributed measurements within their laboratory courses that helped in the optimisation of experimental procedures. Myxomycete material came from surveys carried out in the framework of a grant from the US National Science Foundation project DEB-0316284 “PBI: Global Biodiversity of Eumycetozoans”.

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  1. Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University Greifswald, Grimmer Straße 88, 17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Jens Tesmer & Martin Schnittler

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  1. Jens Tesmer
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  2. Martin Schnittler
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Correspondence to Martin Schnittler.

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Tesmer, J., Schnittler, M. Sedimentation velocity of myxomycete spores. Mycol Progress 6, 229–234 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-007-0539-8

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