Wood-inhabiting filamentous fungi in 12 high-altitude streams of the Western Ghats by damp incubation and bubble chamber incubation

Abstract

The diversity and distribution of fungi on naturally submerged wood from 12 high-altitude streams of the Western Ghats in India were studied by damp chamber incubation and bubble chamber incubation. The damp chamber incubation of wood samples yielded 29 fungal taxa (17 anamorphs, 11 ascomycetes, 1 basidiomycete). Acrogenospora sphaerocephala, Canalisporium sp., Dictyosporium heptasporum, Leptosphaeria ginimia, L. typharum, Massarina australiensis, Sporoschisma saccardoi, and Sporoschismopsis australiensis were the most common taxa and were widely distributed on wood in streams of the Western Ghats. The bubble chamber incubation of bark and cambium revealed 30 aquatic hyphomycetes (bark, 28; cambium, 18). Anguillospora longissima, Flagellospora curvula, F. penicillioides, and Lunulospora curvula were most common in bark as well as cambium. There was only 1 species (Helicomyces roseus) that was identified following both incubation methods, indicating that methodology influences the detection of fungal communities. It is recommended that studies on freshwater fungi should incorporate both damp incubation and bubble chamber techniques.