Polypores from a Brazilian pine forest in Southern Brazil: pileate species

A fungal survey in the National Forest of São Francisco de Paula, in southern Brazil, displayed 38 pileate polypores species (eight Hymenochaetales and 30 Polyporales). Amauroderma coltricioides T.W. Henkel, Aime & Ryvarden and Inonotus fulvomelleus Murrill are recorded for the fist time from Brazil, whereas Antrodiella multipileata Log.-Leite & J.E. Wright and Junghuhnia minuta I. Lindblad & Ryvarden are new records to Rio Grande do Sul State. Keys to species and remarks on the taxa are presented

Graf et al Biotropica_data

Data on beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages on Bracket Fungi (Basidiomycota, in the orders Polyporales and Hymenochaetales) in a Brazilian Forest

Host fungi and feeding habits of Ciidae (Coleoptera) in a subtropical rainforest in southern Brazil, with an overview of host fungi of neotropical ciids

Ciids or minute tree-fungus beetles (Coleoptera: Ciidae) are amongst the most abundant and speciose fungivorous beetles. They spend most of their lives in or around polypore basidiomes, which are used as a food resource and shelter by larvae and adults. The study of Neotropical ciids is incipient and there is no comprehensive work on their host fungi. The present work provides a descriptive analysis of the Ciidae fauna, its feeding habits and polypore hosts at a subtropical rainforest in São Francisco de Paula, southern Brazil. A discussion on the current knowledge of host fungi of Neotropical Ciidae is also provided. Polypore basidiomes were collected in field trips carried out monthly from Aug 2006 to Mar 2007 and kept in the laboratory for up to 3 mo, while adult beetles were continuously captured from them. Basidiomes of 376 individual fungi were collected, comprising a total of 40 species. Among these, 152 individual fungi of 33 species had ciid beetles. Twenty-one species of ciids were recognized among 233 emergent adults. Only 1 ciid species was considered monophagous, 6 were considered oligophagous, and 6 polyphagous. Eight ciid species had less than 5 occurrences, and thus could not be included in any category. There is empirical evidence, from data provided or compiled herein, indicating that some morphologically similar Ciidae species, usually comprising a species group, frequently use the same or closely related species of fungi as the host. This is the first faunistic study on Ciidae and their host fungi in the Neotropical region.Los ciidos, conocidos como escarabajos diminutos de hongos de árboles (Coleoptera: Ciidae), se encuentran entre los escarabajos fungívoros más abundantes y con un gran numero de especies. Pasan la mayor parte de su vida en ïalrededor de un basidioma de clase poliporo, que es utilizado como fuente de alimento y refugio por larvas y adultos. El estudio de los ciidos neotropicales es incipiente y no hay un trabajo exhaustivo sobre los hongos hospederos. El presente trabajo presenta un análisis descriptivo de la fauna de Ciidae, sus hábitos alimenticios y los hospederos poliporos en una selva subtropical en São Francisco de Paula, en el sur de Brasil. También, se provee una discusión sobre el conocimiento actual sobre los hongos hospederos de las especies de los Ciidae neotropicales. Los basidiomas poliporos fueron recolectados mensualmente en salidas de campo realizadas desde agosto del 2006 hasta marzo del 2007 y mantenidos en el laboratorio durante un máximo de tres meses, mientras que los escarabajos adultos fueron capturados de forma continua. Se recolectaron basidiomas de 376 hongos individuales, comprendiendo un total de 40 especies. Entre estos, habian escarabajos presentes en 152 de los hongos individuales que representan 33 especies de hongos. Veintiún especies de ciidos fueron reconocidas, con 233 datos de ocurrencia. Solo una especie de ciido se consideró monófaga, seis se consideraron oligófagas y seis polífagas. Hubo menos de cinco apariciones en ocho de las especies de ciidos y por lo tanto no fue posible incluirlas en ninguna categoría. Hay evidencia empírica, a partir de los datos obtenidos o compilados, indicando que algunas espécies de Ciidae que son morfológicamente similares y que usualmente son del mismo grupo de especies, con frecuencia usan la misma especie de hongo o especies de hongos estrechamente relacionados como hospedero. Este es el primer estudio faunístico de Ciidae y sus hongos hospederos en la región Neotropical

Data from: Factors affecting the structure of Coleoptera assemblages on bracket fungi (Basidiomycota) in a Brazilian forest

Insect–fungal interactions are an important but understudied aspect of tropical forest ecology. Here we present the first large-scale study of insect communities feeding on the reproductive structures of macrofungi (basidiomes) in the Neotropics. This trophic interaction is not well characterized in most ecosystems; however, beetle consumption of basidiomes is thought to be affected by fungal factors, via mechanisms analogous to those observed in plant–herbivore interactions and in some interactions with fungi as hosts in the Holarctic region. We investigated how the composition of beetle assemblages varies as a function of fungal taxonomic distance, basidiome consistency, and hyphal systems. We collected 367 basidiomes belonging to the orders Polyporales and Hymenochaetales in the subtropical Araucaria angustifolia forest region of southern Brazil, along with any fauna present or without it. Basidiomes were maintained individually in the laboratory in plastic containers for up to three months to allow beetles to develop to adulthood, at which point the beetles were collected. We found that 207 basidiome specimens representing 40 species were associated with beetles. We recorded 447 occurrences of Coleoptera, representing 90 morphospecies from 20 families. We found that assemblages of fungivorous Coleoptera were more similar among more closely related fungi. Furthermore, the beetle assemblages varied as a function of basidiome toughness, which is influenced by sporocarp consistency and hyphal system type. The associations between beetles and basidiomes resemble those reported previously in temperate zones, suggesting continuity in the structure of such associations across a wide latitudinal range

Taxonomic delimitation of Fulvifomes robiniae (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) and related species in America: F. squamosus sp. nov.

Morphological revision of Fulvifomes robiniae, as well as phylogenetic inferences based on nITS and nLSU markers, indicated that the species has a narrower concept in its morphology and distribution. Other morphologically related taxa arise from this taxonomic approach. Fulvifomes cedrelae is not accepted as a synonym of F. robiniae, and Fulvifomes squamosus sp. nov. is described as new based on Peruvian specimens. Based on morphology, phylogenetic relationships and host distributions, the taxonomic implication for the genus and other related taxa are discussed.Fil: Salvador Montoya, Carlos Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Popoff, Orlando Fabian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Reck, Mateus Arduvino. Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Departamento de Biologia; BrasilFil: Drechsler Dos Santos, Elisandro Ricardo. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; Brasi