Lecture series in Ecology and Environmental Research WS 2024/25
Daniel Newman
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad de Ecuador (INABIO) (Homepage)
Thursday, 24.10.2024 12:15-13:45, H6, Geo
Richer than Gold: the fungal biodiversity of Reserva Los Cedros, a threatened Andean cloud forest
Globally, many undescribed fungal taxa reside in the hyperdiverse, yet undersampled, tropics. These species are under increasing threat from habitat destruction by expanding extractive industry, in addition to global climate change and other threats. Reserva Los Cedros is a primary cloud forest reserve of ~5256 ha, and is among the last unlogged watersheds on the western slope of the Ecuadorian Andes. No major fungal survey has been done there, presenting an opportunity to document fungi in primary forest in an underrepresented habitat and location. Above ground macro-fungal surveys from 2008 to 2019 resulted in 1760 vouchered collections, mostly Agaricales sensu lato and Xylariales. Preliminary identifications indicate the presence of at least 727 unique fungal species within the Reserve, including red-listed species. Our results indicate that fungi exhibit exceptionally high diversity and endemism in the biodiversity hotspot known as the Chocó bioregion, alongside the better known diversity of plants and animals, and illustrate the importance and utility of such data to conservation efforts.
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