Freshwater fungi from bamboo and wood submerged in the Liput River in the Philippines

Abstract

Eighty fungi were recorded on submerged bamboo and wood in the Liput River, Bario Alegria, Negros Occidentalis, the Philippines following collections made in April 1997 and August 2001. The frequency of occurrence of these fungi have also been investigated. The most common species overall was Didymella aptrootii, occurring on 23.5% of the samples, while Astrosphaeriella papillata (19.5%) and Acrogenospora sphaerocephala (14.5%) were also common. The most common species on bamboo was Didymella aptrootii, occurring in 39.2% of the samples, while the most common species on wood was Savoryella aquatica (18.7%). The average number of species identified from each sample was 2.28, which indicates a relatively high fungal diversity in the Liput River. The fungal communities on submerged bamboo and wood are compared and discussed. The results showed that in the Liput River, bamboo support a different and diverse group of fungi in comparison to wood. The fungal community on submerged bamboo is, to some extent, similar to that on terrestrial bamboo in previous studies. The possible reasons are discussed.