Biodiversity of Fungi in the photic and aphotic zones of Montenegro caves

摘要

For the first time, the composition of micromycetes communities was investigated in both photic and aphotic entrance zones of seven caves in Montenegro: Obodska Pecina, Golubinja Pecina, Velustica Pecina, Vrbacka jama, Jama ER-1, Njegos Pecina, and an unnamed cave. In total, 72 species of micromycetes were identified: 46 species from illuminated photic zones of the caves, including 43 species on phototrophs, 10 species from the air, 15 species on substrates, and 50 species from unlit aphotic zones, including 35 species from the air and 37 species on substrates. The most frequently isolated species wereAcrodontium salmoneum,Aureobasidium pullulans,Cladosporium oxysporum,Mucor racemosus f. racemosus,Penicillium chrysogenum, andRhizopus stolonifer. The similarity between micromycetes composition of different biotopes was evaluated using the Jaccard index and cluster analysis. The greatest similarity was observed in the communities isolated from the air of the photic zones of the caves.