Fungal communities across a surface water permanence gradient in a non-perennial prairie stream network.

ABSTRACT: Over half of the world's streams are non-perennial, drying at some point in space and time, but most research on stream-inhabiting fungi comes from perennial (continuously flowing) streams. To improve our understanding of fungal communities in non-perennial streams, we used ITS rDNA metabarcoding to survey fungal communities in three natural substrates (rock surfaces, decaying leaves, and sediments) across a surface water permanence gradient (determined via in-stream sensors) in a non-perennial prairie stream system in Kansas, USA. Fungal community composition varied along a continuum from wooded downstream reaches to increasingly open canopies (with grassy riparian vegetation) further upstream. Independently of position along this continuum, fungal community composition varied with annual

SUBMITTER: Bond CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12452275 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature