Conlarium sichuanense sp. nov., on Ficus virens from Sichuan Province, China

A new hyphomycetous species, Conlarium sichuanense was found on dead branches of Ficus virens (Moraceae) from a terrestrial habitat in Sichuan Province, China. The new species has sporodochial colonies on natural substate, with micronematous conidiophores and muriform, brown and subglobose to irregular-shaped conidia. The phylogenetic analysis based on combined LSU, ITS and SSU sequence data showed that Conlarium sichuanense clustered together with C. aquaticum and C. thailandense and presented as a distinct lineage. A detailed, illustrated description and comparison with related Conlarium species are provided.

Metagenomic Analysis of Lichen Associated Bacterial Community Profiling In Roccella Montagnei

A lichen is a composite organism formed of algae or cyanobacteria that live in a mutually advantageous symbiotic relationship with the filaments (hyphae) of fungus. Three lichen samples were obtained from diverse sites at Kuppanasamy temple, Pollachi, a terrestrial habitat located in Coimbatore, Nithiravilai, Nagercoil, and Ramarpatham, Vedaranyam, both coastal habitats located in Kanyakumari and Nagapattinam districts of Tamil Nadu, for this study. Amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA V3 - V4 regions were used for metagenomic study. Aside from the NGS data, distinct types of lichen microbiome profiles were clearly shown. The bacterial diversity in the lichen genera of Roccella montagnei growing in coastal and terrestrial environments was further investigated using common and unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and the QIIME pipeline (1.9.1). By using similarity clustering, the heat map analysis depicts the abundance information of chosen OTUs as well as the similarity and difference between OTUs and lichen samples. Using multiple methods, the Alpha and Beta diversity analysis revealed that there were differences in all of the samples. However, UPGMA tree inference of comparable bacterial community in coastal habitat lichen samples compared to terrestrial habitat validates their evolutionary lineage. As a result, the bacterial population associated with corticolous lichen is dependent on geographic locations, growth substrate, and climatic circumstances of similar lichen genera produced in different habitats and tree substrates.

A Taxonomic Appraisal of Bambusicolous Fungi in Occultibambusaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes) with New Collections from Yunnan Province, China

During our ongoing studies of bambusicolous fungi in southwest China and Thailand, three saprobic pleosporalean taxa were discovered on bamboos in Yunnan Province of China. Occultibambusa hongheensis and Seriascoma bambusae spp. nov. are introduced based on morphological characteristics coupled with multi-locus phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, SSU, TEF1-α, RPB2 and ITS sequence data. Occultibambusa kunmingensis is also reported from a terrestrial habitat for the first time. Comprehensive descriptions, color photo plates of micromorphology, and a phylogenetic tree showing the placements of these three taxa are provided. In addition, synopsis tables of Occultibambusa and Seriascoma with morphological features are also provided.

Larval development and survival of pond-breeding anurans in an agricultural landscape impacted more by phytoplankton than surrounding habitat

The destruction of freshwater habitat is a major contributor to biodiversity loss in aquatic ecosystems. However, created or restored wetlands could partially mitigate aquatic biodiversity loss by increasing the amount of available habitat across a landscape. We investigated the impact of surrounding terrestrial habitat and water quality variables on suitability for two species of pond-breeding amphibians (bullfrogs [Lithobates catesbeianus] and Blanchard’s cricket frogs [Acris blanchardi]) in created permanent wetlands located on an agricultural landscape. We examined tadpole growth and survival in field enclosures placed in ponds surrounded by agricultural, forested, or grassland habitats. We also evaluated the potential for carryover effects of the aquatic environment on terrestrial growth and overwinter survival of cricket frog metamorphs. We found that habitat adjacent to ponds did not predict tadpole growth or survival. Rather, phytoplankton abundance, which showed high variability among ponds within habitat type, was the only predictor of tadpole growth. Cricket frogs emerged larger and earlier from ponds with higher phytoplankton abundance; bullfrogs were also larger and at a more advanced developmental stage in ponds with higher levels of phytoplankton. Overwinter survival of cricket frogs was explained by size at metamorphosis and there were no apparent carryover effects of land use or pond-of-origin on overwinter growth and survival. Our results demonstrate that created ponds in human-dominated landscapes can provide suitable habitat for some anurans, independent of the adjacent terrestrial habitat.

Brahmaculus gen. nov. (Leotiomycetes, Chlorociboriaceae)

A second genus in Chlorociboriaceae is described here as Brahmaculusgen. nov. Macroscopically distinctive, all species have bright yellow apothecia with several apothecial cups held on short branches at the tip of a long stipe. The genus is widely distributed across the Southern Hemisphere; the four new species described here include two from Chile (B. magellanicussp. nov., B. osornoensissp. nov.) and one each from New Zealand (B. moonlighticussp. nov.) and Australia (B. packhamiaesp. nov.). They differ from species referred to Chlorociboria, the only other genus in Chlorociboriaceae, in their terrestrial habitat and ascomata that are noticeably more hairy than the known Chlorociboria species, most of which have apothecia with short, macroscopically indistinct hair-like elements. Based on our analyses, Chlorociboria as accepted here is paraphyletic. Additional study is needed to clarify where alternative, monophyletic generic limits should be drawn and how these genera may be recognised morphologically. Also described here are three new Chlorociboria spp. from New Zealand (C. metrosiderisp. nov., C. solandrisp. nov., C. subtilissp. nov.), distinctive in developing on dead leaves rather than wood and in two of them not forming the green pigmentation characteristic of most Chlorociboria species. New Zealand specimens previously incorrectly identified as Chlorociboria argentinensis are provided with a new name, C. novae-zelandiaesp. nov.

The taxonomy and phylogeny of Austropleospora ochracea sp. nov. (Didymosphaeriaceae) from Guizhou, China

Austropleospora is a genus of Didymosphaeriaceae with only three extant species. A survey of saprobic ascomycetes in Guizhou Province, China, discovered a new Austropleospora species on dead twigs in a terrestrial habitat. The molecular phylogeny based on a combined SSU-LSU-tef1-ITS DNA sequence dataset confirmed the new species’ taxonomic position in Austropleospora. Austropleospora ochracea sp. nov. is characterized by globose to subglobose and uni-loculate ascoma with a centric short papilla, brown to dark brown peridium with cells of textura angularis to textura prismatica and conical, comparatively smaller ascospores with narrowly rounded polar ends. The new taxon is compared with similar species in Austropleospora, and its taxonomic status is briefly discussed.

Alpine Newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) Avoid Habitats Previously Used by Parasite-Exposed Conspecifics

Many organisms avoid habitats posing risks of parasitism. Parasites are not generally conspicuous, however, which raises the question of what cues individuals use to detect parasitism risk. Here, we provide evidence in alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) that non-visual cues from parasite-exposed conspecifics inform habitat avoidance. Alpine newts breed in aquatic habitats and occasionally move among adjacent terrestrial habitat during breeding seasons. We completed experiments with newts whereby individuals had access to both habitats, and the aquatic habitats varied in prior occupancy by conspecifics with different histories of exposure to the parasitic skin fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Continuous filming of newt activity for 2 days provided little evidence that prior use of aquatic habitats by conspecifics, regardless of their Bd exposure history, immediately influenced newt habitat use. However, newts that encountered aquatic habitats used specifically by Bd-exposed conspecifics on day 1 spent less time aquatic on day 2, whereas other newts did not alter habitat use. Responses could have been elicited by cues generated by Bd stages on the conspecifics or, perhaps more likely, cues emitted by the conspecifics themselves. In either case, these observations suggest that newts use non-visual cues sourced from exposed conspecifics to detect Bd risk and that those cues cause newts to avoid aquatic habitats. Bd may therefore influence host behavior in early phases of interactions, and possibly before any contact with infectious stages is made, creating potential for non-consumptive effects.