Abstract
Wild boars (<em>Sus scrofa</em> L.) are well-known for soil disturbance in natural and cultivated truffières but their role in spore dispersal is poorly investigated. In the present work we studied the occurrence of hypogeous fungal spores in faecal contents of 14 wild boars randomly hunted in “Parco dei Gessi e Calanchi dell’Abbadessa” Regional Park (North of Italy) where truffle production has been previously investigated for three years. Six methods for spore analysis in faeces were compared and the suspension of faeces in ZnSO<sub>4</sub> (70%) solution resulted to be the most reliable. Hypogeous fungal spores, including <em>Tuber magnatum</em> and <em>Tuber aestivum</em> spores, were detected in 9 animals. This result suggests that the detection of fungal spores in faeces of wild boars may provide information on the presence of hypogeous fungi in an area. However, the poor abundance of spores suggests that the wild boar can be considered an opportunistic mycophagist, ingesting truffles only occasionally, as a seasonal source of food. Considering the magnitude of wild boar movements during seasonal migrations, it is possible to speculate that they play a key role in truffle long distance dispersal.
Highlights
Hypogeous fungi comprise species belonging to several genera of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Muromycotina (Trappe et al 2009; Bonito et al 2013)
The negative impact of wild boars on truffles is attributed to soil disturbance and ascoma consumption, as we demonstrated for Tuber aestivum in natural truffières in Central Italy (Salerni et al 2011)
Only a few ascomata of T. aestivum and T. magnatum were found because the area is regularly visited by other truffle hunters, truffle harvesting within the Park is forbidden
Summary
Hypogeous fungi comprise species belonging to several genera of Ascomycota (true truffles), Basidiomycota and Muromycotina (false truffles) (Trappe et al 2009; Bonito et al 2013). The hypogeous lifestyle comported several morphological changes, as the loss of the ability to discard spores actively (Trappe, Claridge 2005). This led to develop several survival strategies, as the development of a strong aroma, even typical of any. Truffle species (Gioacchini et al 2005) This aroma is useful to the fungus to be found and eaten by wild animals, mainly rodents and mammals, ensuring spore dispersal into the environment by animal faeces (Cazares et al 1999; Trappe, Claridge 2005). Faeces examination of mycophagous rodents, such as the giant whitetailed rat, Uromys caudimaculatus Krefft, the golden mantled ground squirrel, Spermophilus saturates Rhoads, and the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner, demonstrated that truffles represent a consistent part of their diet (Comport, Hume 1998; Cork, Kenagy 1989)
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