Nova Hedwigia Vol. 104 (2017) Issue 1–3, 273–291 published online May 24, 2016; published in print February 2017
Article
Diversity and ecology of Myxomycetes in the Pampa Biome, Brazil Vitor Xavier de Lima* 1,2 and Laise de Holanda Cavalcanti1,2 1
Laboratório de Mixomicetos, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n. Cidade Universitária, 50670-420, Recife, PE, Brazil
2
Departamento de Micologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia de Fungos, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Professor Moraes Rego s/n. Cidade Universitária, 50670-420, Recife, PE, Brazil
Abstract: The first comprehensive study of Myxomycetes of the Brazilian portion of the Pampa biome is reported herein. Three field excursions took place in 2013 and 2015 at the APA Ibirapuitã for a biodiversity survey of 30 plots. Moist chambers were also prepared with samples collected in the study area. A total of 57 species were recorded, of which 28 are new records for the state of Rio Grande do Sul and 8 are new records for Brazil: Arcyria afroalpina, Craterium concinnum, Licea rufocuprea, L. tenera, Perichaena luteola, Physarum robustum, P. spectabile and Stemonitopsis gracilis. Notes on the ecology of myxomycetes and substrate preferences are provided. The results show that the two major phytophysiognomies of the region, grassland and riparian forest, have very distinct myxomycete assemblages due to their differing vegetation and microclimatic conditions. Key words: Slime mold, Myxogastria, grassland, riparian wood, Amoebozoa.
Introduction Located in extreme southern Brazil in a subtropical climate, the Pampa is a vegetation mosaic dominated by a grassland matrix with occasional forested areas, and is home to one of the greatest diversities of grassland plants in the world (Boldrini 2009). The vegetation is a relict from a colder and drier climate (Behling et al. 2009), and also covers large areas in Uruguay and Argentina. Despite its cultural and biological importance, with more than 100 endemic plant species (Overbeck et al. 2009), most of Brazilian Pampa’s biodiversity remains unknown, especially its microbiota (Cavalcanti 2010, König et al. 2013, Cavalcanti 2015, Maia & Carvalho 2015).
Corresponding author:
[email protected] © 2016 J. Cramer in Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany. DOI: 10.1127/nova_hedwigia/2016/0360
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