Water-borne conidial fungi inhabiting tree holes of the west coast and Western Ghats of India.

Abstract

The present study focuses on water-borne conidial fungi associated with leaf litter in riparian tree holes of the west coast (Konaje) and Western Ghats (Sampaje) of India during dry (summer) and wet (monsoon) seasons. Out of a total of 34 fungal taxa recovered from leaf litter trapped in tree holes, 26 fully identified taxa constitute the first record for the tree hole habitat. Paired t-test revealed no significant difference in number of taxa (P = 0.1177) and conidial output (P = 0.1816) between Konaje and Sampaje tree holes, while they significantly differed between seasons of Konaje (P = 0.0258) and Sampaje (P = 0.0206). The Simpson and Shannon diversity of fungi were highest in Sampaje than Konaje tree holes. Tree-wise diversity of fungi revealed that banyan (Ficus benghalensis) tree holes are highly diverse during the summer and monsoon seasons in Konaje, but only during summer in Sampaje. In spite of a low conidial output, tree hole leaf litter of Konaje yielded 18 taxa against 20 taxa in the Konaje stream, wheras 29 taxa were recorded in Sampaje tree holes against 68 taxa in the Sampaje stream. The current study has been compared with earlier investigations on the occurrence of water-borne conidial fungi in tree canopies (e. g. intact leaves, leaf litter, tree holes, stemflow and throughfall).