The immobility generally leaves only two ways for fungi to extend their range: they can grow into an adjoining area, or disperse spores or seeds. Most fungal spores are single cells. They can travel beyond the physical limits of their parent into more distant territory.
Spore dispersal is a two-step process. The first step is spore discharge or release. The second step is dispersal away from the parent. Fungi have evolved a number of different mechanisms for spore discharge and dispersal.
Solutions for dispersal can be grouped into passive and active mechanisms.
Passive mechanisms for dispersal include
• Wind
• Water
• Animals
The giant puffball is an example of passive spore dispersal by wind. The puffball cracks open to allow the wind to carry away its spores. This is not an energy-efficient way to disperse spores. Giant puffballs produce trillions of spores because the chance of a spore landing in a habitat suitable for germination is extremely small. Passive wind dispersal is sometimes called "sweepstakes dispersal" because its chance of success is so low, just like a lottery or horse race sweepstakes. Another problem with this method is that most of the spores land close to the parent fungus, as shown in the figure. Note that the density of the spore cloud decreases in relation to its distance from the puffball. The cereal plant parasite Tilletia drops its spores into the wind. The second figure shows actual measurements of the sharp decrease over distance in the density of its drifting spore cloud. Nearly all the spores (99%) land within 325 feet (100 m) of their parent.
Spore dispersal of fungi Bark Mushroom insects picture | |
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