Abstract
Studies of fungi in caves have become increasingly important with the advent of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by the invasive fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that has killed an estimated 6.5 million North American bats. We swabbed cave walls in New Brunswick, Canada, in 2012 and 2015 to determine whether the culturable fungal assemblage on cave walls changed after the introduction of Pd and subsequent decrease in hibernating bat populations. We also compared fungal assemblages on cave walls to previous studies on the fungal assemblages of arthropods and hibernating bats in the same sites. The fungal diversity of bats and cave walls was more similar than on arthropods. The diversity and composition of fungal assemblages on cave walls was significantly different among media types and sites but did not differ over time. Therefore, no change in the culturable fungal assemblage present on cave walls was detected with the introduction of Pd and subsequent disappearance of the hibernating bat population over a 3-year period. This suggests that fungi documented in caves in the region prior to the outbreak of Pd do not require regular transmission of spores by bats to maintain fungal diversity at these sites.
Highlights
Microscopic fungi are an important part of cave ecosystems
Fungal Diversity on Cave Walls Compared to Arthropods and Bats
Cave generally had had the highest fungal diversity within a site acompared to arthropods, while overall, bats walls generally the highest fungal diversity within site compared to arthropods, while overall, generally had thediversity highest fungal diversity within a site compared to taxa arthropods, while overall, bats had thethe lowest
Summary
Microscopic fungi are an important part of cave ecosystems. Fungi are found on a variety of substrates in caves but are not evenly distributed within underground environments. The highest diversity of fungi in caves are associated with deposits of organic material, such as dung [1,2]. Fungal spores can be transported into caves by water, wind, and fauna such as arthropods and bats. Despite the apparent lack of organic material, a diverse fungal assemblage has previously been documented on cave walls [3,4,5,6]. In [7], it was found that fungal diversity on cave walls differed from that on the floor of caves. Unlike the habitat of rock-inhabiting microbes outside caves, rock walls deep in caves are exposed to high humidity, never exposed to UV light, experience minimal temperature variation, and are sheltered from weather events such as wind and rain, all of which may affect the microbial community [8,9]. Bacteria in caves are known to acquire energy by transforming aromatic compounds, fixing gases such as methane, trapping particulate material from the atmosphere, and Diversity 2019, 11, 222; doi:10.3390/d11120222 www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity
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