Black noddies (Anous minutus) and wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) as potential hosts for fungi invading sea turtle nests at Heron Island, Queensland

Black noddies (Anous minutus) and wedge-tailed shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) on Heron Island, (Capricorn Group, Queensland) were surveyed to determine if they harboured fungi that had been implicated in sea turtle egg mortality in situ. Isolated from the cloacal exterior of these seabirds were Penicillium citrinum, Fusarium semitecturm, F. trichothecioides, Aspergillus unguis, Aspergillus candidus, Acremonium sp., Alternaria sp. and Drechslera sp. These isolates are common soil or plant fungi and their most likely origin is therefore the nest or burrow material. None of these species have been isolated from sea turtle eggs that failed to hatch.