Authors: Policina, Monica S. & dela Cruz, Thomas Edison E.
Journal: Karstenia, Volume 58 (2020), Issue 2, pages 201-214.
Doi: https://doi.org/10.29203/ka.2020.495
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Key words: Angat Watershed Forest Reserve, cardinal points, plasmodial slime mold, tropical forests, tropical monsoon
Abstract: Barks of living trees serve as a microhabitat for a distinct assemblage of myxomycetes, the corticolous myxomycetes. In this study, we sampled 86 living Swietenia macrophylla trees for bark samples at four cardinal directions (North, East, South, West) to prepare 344 moist chambers. Of these, only 134 moist chambers yielded myxomycetes recorded either as fruiting bodies or plasmodia. Our study also recorded a total of 125 determinable fruiting bodies which were identified as belonging to 22 species, 11 genera, and 7 taxonomic orders and with the most number of taxa recorded in the west (17) and south (14), followed by east (12) and north (11) directions. Eleven taxa were recorded as abundant, with three taxa of Licea having the highest number of records. Comparing species composition, only four species were common in all directions. Following statistical analysis, we did not observe any significant differences between the diversity values per cardinal direction.