An illustrated key to the common temperate species of aquatic hyphomycetes

Abstract

Aquatic hyphomycetes play a key role in the decomposition of allochthonous plant litter and food webs in lotic ecosystems (e.g. Suberkropp & Klug 1976, Bärlocher 1992, Hieber & Gessner 2002). Soon after colonizing a substrate, many species produce vast amounts of conidia that enter the water column and are transported downstream. Aquatic hyphomycetes can invest up to 80% of their production into sporulation and conidial production alone has been shown to account for up to 8..12% of leaf litter mass loss (Suberkropp 1991). Most aquatic hyphomycetes form tetraradiate, variously branched or scolecoid (worm-like) conidia that are adapted for dispersal in flowing water (Webster & Descals 1981). Since conidia are mostly characteristically shaped, it is often possible to identify them to species, count them and thus gain insight into the structure of the fungal community developing on submerged substrates (Bärlocher 2004). This facilitates ecological studies that link fungal biodiversity with functional aspects of ecosystems such as organic matter decomposition.