Title
Myxomycete diversity in a humid montane forest on the eastern slopes of the peruvian andes
Date Issued
01 January 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Societe Royale de Botanique de Belgique
Abstract
Background – The humid montane forests on the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes are known for their high biodiversity and natural resources. While their incredibly rich plant and animal communities are still in the process of being discovered, the diversity of smaller organisms such as the Myxomycetes are even more scarcely known. In this work, we document the Myxomycete diversity in these montane forests and evaluate species abundance, occurrence by substrates, distribution, and seasonality, thus documenting population status and species ecology. Material and methods – The study was carried out at the Wayqecha Biological Station located in the Cusco region of Peru. Two sampling campaigns took place in late January (wet season) and early May (dry season) of 2018. We performed a species inventory and evaluated alpha diversity, assemblage similarity, and abundance of Myxomycetes within six 100 m2 plots. We documented variations of species richness and abundance between seasons as well as between substrates. Results – We recorded a total of 81 taxa of Myxomycetes. The order Physarales was the most diverse, and the most abundant species were Didymium squamulosum and Diderma deplanatum during the wet and dry season, respectively. The substrate with highest diversity overall was dead leaves. Diversity was similar in both seasons but with a notable species turnover. Conclusion – The humid montane forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru revealed an unexpected richness in Myxomycetes. Based on our results, we conclude that this type of forest harbours one of the greatest Myxomycetes diversities in the Peruvian territory, also due to the important seasonal species turnover.
Start page
390
End page
398
Volume
153
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ecología Forestal
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85097529501
Source
Plant Ecology and Evolution
ISSN of the container
20323913
Sponsor(s)
The authors thank the Asociación para la Conservación de la Cuenca Amazónica (ACCA), the Michael Owen Dil-lon Scientific Institute (IMOD), and the Real Jardín Bo-tánico (CSIC) through the Myxotropic project, supported by the Spanish Government [CGL2014-52584P, PGC2018-094660-B-I00 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE)] for funding the fieldwork, and the use of equipment and infrastructure. We especially thank Jhon Muñuico and Susan Huamaní for their assistance in the field and the staff of the Wayqecha Biological Station for the facilities provided during the course of the project. We also thank Diana Wrigley de Basanta and En-rique Lara for revising the text.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus