DISTRIBUTION AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MICROCOLONIAL FUNGI AND ROCK COATINGS FROM ARID AUSTRALIA

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Abstract
Microcolonial fungi are found on rock coatings at various sites throughout the arid regions of Australia. Fungi tend to concentrate in depressions, although it is uncertain whether they contribute to enlargement of microhollows. As determined by SEM-EDAX, the chemical characteristics of microcolonial fungi are variable but do not reflect those of the surfaces on which they are found. Most fungi contain calcium, sulfur, chlorine and sometimes phosphorus, but not manganese, in quantities greater than those of adjacent rock coatings. Major sources for accumulated elements may be rainfall or dust. Some elements, especially calcium, are apparently concentrated temporarily in microcolonial fungi, with amounts present in dead organisms being relatively low. The incorporation of some dead microcolonial fungi into developing rock coatings is therefore unlikely to lead to anomalously high calcium levels for cation ratio dating. As rock coatings contain trace or undetectable amounts of some other elements concentrated within active microcolonial fungi, the presence of an accumulator organism on coating surfaces does not necessarily result in these elements being incorporated within the coating. [Key words: microcolonial fungi, rock coatings, arid Australia.]