Accelerated tree death in mature Nothofagus cunninghamii Oerst forests in Tasmania
Howard, T.M., 1973: Accelerated tree death in mature Nothofagus cunninghamii Oerst forests in Tasmania. Victorian Naturalist 90(12): 343-345
The normal pattern of sporadic death of N. cunninghamii in NW Tasmania, has been replaced by the death of large groups of trees. Sections of recently-dead trees were found to contain thousands of new tunnels of Platypus sp., and two days after cutting the sections a dense mycelium developed. It is inferred that the fungus responsible (species unknown) is carried from tree to tree by Platypus beetle vectors in order to feed their larvae, but causes the death of many host trees.Other references