Fungi in a Warmer World: First record of fungal diversity in the MMCO of Thailand and Slovakia

ROMERO C. INGRID; NUÑEZ OTAÑO N.B.; GIBSON E. MARTHA; SPEARS M. TYLER; FAIRCHILD JOLENE C.; TARLTON LAIKIN; JONES SAVANNAH; BELKIN HARVEY E.; WARNY SOPHIE; POUND MATTHEW; O'KEEFE JENNIFER M. K.

New Orleans

Congreso; AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA & Online everywhere; 2021

American geophysical Union

The middle Miocene Climate Optimum (MMCO), the warmest interval of the last 23 MY, is considered the best analog for intermediate warming scenarios forecast by IPCC RCP 4.5-6.0. Fungi, the dominant decomposers of land plants, play a key role in the terrestrial carbon cycle, soil formation, and overall plant growth. Preservation of fungal assemblages and biodiversity in modern settings is of great concern, as we are unable to predict their behavior during forecast warming scenarios. If we can elucidate fungal assemblage and biodiversity change during the MMCO, we will be poised to predict future behavior. Here we present the first study of its kind, an evaluation of the fungal diversity and community composition as recorded in coal seams across the MMCO from two widely-separated regions: northern Thailand, and west-central Slovakia. We used presence-absence data based on morphospecies to quantify the fungal diversity of each locality. Our results indicate over 250 morphotypes, 150 of which occur in Thailand, 93 in Slovakia, and 37 in both localities. Although impacted by taphonomy, fungal assemblage biodiversity appears to be following predicted patterns, as it is higher in the tropics and lower in temperate regions. In both localities, we observed epiphyllous structures, Helicoma sp., and cf. Tetraploa sp., suggesting wet environments or high precipitation. In Thailand, spores of Arecophila sp. suggest an environment with monocotyledons, such as palms and bamboo. In Slovakia, we found spores of aff. Dictiosporium sp., common on freshwater submerged wood, the coprophilous Delitschia sp., and Glomus sp., an arbuscular mycorrhiza. This work opens new horizons for the study of past fungal diversity based on modern fungal ecology analyses. It also sheds light on understanding how variations in fungal species richness and community composition were affected latitudinally asymmetrical climatic change, which will permit us to make inferences for future behavior.