Microfungi in bromeliad phytotelmata from a fragment of Atlantic Forest of the Extreme South of Bahia Hermanna Vanesca Viana de Oliveira, Jorge Luiz Fortuna

Abstract

Bromeliads have high ecological potential, mainly due to the capacity to accumulate water and organic matter in the center of the enlarged and spiral-shaped leaf sheaths, in which it is possible to create a perfect habitat for a wealth of species, including microorganisms. This study aimed to quantify and identify microfungi, as well as to analyze the main ecological indices (constancy; species richness; similarity index; variability index) in phytotelmata of the bromeliads Vriesea procera and Aechmea alba, located in a fragment of Atlantic Forest of the Extreme South, Teixeira de Freitas-BA. The collections were carried out between January and October 2019 in a private remaining forest fragment (Sayonara Farm). The processing, analysis and identification of the samples were carried out in the Fungal Biology Laboratory of the State University of Bahia (UNEB), Campus X. Microfungal colonies were quantified and identified from the water accumulated in the phytotelma of the two bromeliad species. Twenty-nine specimens of filamentous fungi were identified, distributed in eight genera: Penicillium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Talaromyces, Exophiala, Mucor, Cladosporium, and Aphanocladium. The ecological analyses allowed to observe the presence of 55.17 % of microfungi in the bromeliads V. procera and 65.52 % of microfungi in bromeliads A. alba. Species richness showed little difference between the two bromeliad species. The diversity index of microfungal species was similar between the two plants. The similarity coefficient of microfungal species between the two bromeliads was relatively low.