Stream water acts as a conveyor of particles of various nature, including fungal spores. In this environment, fungal spores not only originate from the organic material being decayed in the water, as in the case for aquatic fungi, but also come from riparian vegetation and is also probably related with landuses. Fungal composition also reflects interactions between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. However, the spora composition of stream waters has not been studied in detail and its relationships with the atmosphere are still unknown.
Methods to isolate the fungal spores and to quantify their composition in natural waters are not well established. In order to develop a standard protocol for this purpose, we have tested and compared a series of methods. The isolation of fungal spores was performed by filtration and evaporation of stream water coming from several sites selected with different landuses. Preliminary results show that the aquatic spora is mainly composed of the following fungal spore-type: unidentified spores, Basidiomycetes, Deuteromycetes, Myxomycetes and Ascomycetes. The year-round airborne spora is largely composed of the following spore-types: Deuteromycetes, Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes and unidentified spores.
These preliminary results suggest that the fungal composition of water is partially similar to the airborne assemblages. Further analysis will enlighten the possible relationships between the two environments. Discussion will also present a detailed comparison of methods and a possible gradient in the mycological assemblages in water, from upstream to downstream.