Chytrid Diversity of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

Abstract

Alabama is a biodiversity hotspot. The diversity of chytrid fungi, however, is underexplored. For this reason, we used standard bait-culturing techniques to sample habitats in Tuscaloosa County for chytrids. We cultured 100 isolates; the majority was assigned to 23 taxa belonging to 6 of the 7 recognized orders. Some could not be assigned to a currently described taxon. The majority of isolates belonged to one of three taxa: Chytriomyces hyalinus, Rhizoclosmatium globosum, and Boothiomyces macroporosum. This result demonstrates that chytrid communities in Tuscaloosa County, as elsewhere, are composed of a few common and many uncommon to rare taxa. The presence of unidentified chytrid isolates demonstrates the need for further sampling in Alabama, and the potential for this sampling to broaden our understanding of chytrid diversity.