A preliminary study on the occurrence of microscopic asexual fungi associated with bird nests in Brazilian semi-arid

Abstract

Bird nests are made up of twigs, leaves and bark, among other things, all substrates that are decomposed by fungi. Thus, the richness of microscopic asexual fungi associated with the plant substrates that make up the bird nests in a fragment of the semi-deciduous seasonal forest in the “Serra da Maravilha”, Senhor do Bonfim, Bahia, Brazil was studied. The plant substrates were collected between February to July 2014. Forty-four species of microscopic asexual fungi were identified distributed in 36 genera, associated with the decomposition of 11 birds' nests. Among the species cataloged, Actinocladium rhodosporium, Alternaria alternata, Cryptophiale kakombensis, Ellisembia adscendens, Gyrothrix circinata, Gyrothrix microsperma, Tetraploa aristata, Thozetella cristata and Torula herbarum were found throughout the study, while the other species were found sporadically. Dendryphion cubense constitutes a new record for South America, Endophragmiella valdiviana represents a new record for Brazil and Uberispora heteroseptata is a new record for Bahia.