Diversity and Seasonal Variation of Aquatic Hyphomycetes in Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand, India

Aquatic hyphomycetes, the main fungal decomposers of submerged dead organic matter are known to play an important role in unlocking the energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. These fungi are yet to be explored from different freshwater bodies for their multifarious benefits. The Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary, situated at the foothill of Kumaun Himalaya (Uttarakhand) is still untouched for its aquatic biota exploration especially hyphomycetes. Comparatively warm temperature and diverse substrate pool of the site may favour the occurrence and growth of varied forms of aquatic hyphomycetes and make it an interesting matter of investigation. Therefore, the present work was undertaken to reveal the diversity and seasonal variation of these fungi. The samples were collected monthly and taken to the laboratory for further processing and incubation for sporulation. Altogether 19 species belonging to 12 genera were isolated from leaf litter samples, among which only 4 species were recorded from water foam samples. Seasonal variation was noticed in the species composition with the maximum number of species in winter (18 species) followed by autumn (12 species), spring (7 species), rainy (7 species) and least in the summer season (1 species). The temperature range of 11-25°C was found to favour the maximum species diversity.

Saima Altaf*1, Saraswati Bisht2, Ruchi Jalal3 and Jasvinder Kaur4 Click here to download file

Research Article | Published online : 13-May-2022