Effect of sampling height on the concentration of airborne fungal spores

Survey of the state of conservation of the Mylodon listai (Xenarthra-Mylodontidae) skin fragment from the Pleistocene of Argentina kept at the Museum of La Plata (Argentina)

“…This may indicate that the atmosphere in the upper sector is more stable or less disturbed by anthropogenic activity or by the environmental flow than that in the lower sector. These results are similar to those of Khattab and Levetin (2008) but different from those of Atluri et al, (1988) and Rantio-Lethimaki et al, (1999), who reported lower concentrations of this spore type as the sampling height increases.…”

Ice nucleation by fungal spores from the classes <i>Agaricomycetes</i>, <i>Ustilaginomycetes</i>, and <i>Eurotiomycetes</i>, and the effect on the atmospheric transport of these spores

“…The main mechanism for the spread of fungi is by wind dissemination of spores (Webster and Weber, 2007), and accurate models to predict the spread of fungal spores are needed. In the past, researchers have predicted the spread of fungal spores using various models (Andrade et al, 2009;Aylor, 1986Aylor, , 2003Isard et al, 2005;Kim and Beresford, 2008;Magarey et al, 2007;Pan et al, 2006;Pfender et al, 2006;Skelsey et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2010;Wilkinson et al, 2012), but ice nucleation followed by precipitation was not included in these models as a sink of the spores from the atmosphere.…”

Ice nucleation and its effect on the atmospheric transport of fungal spores from the classes <i>Agaricomycetes</i>, <i>Ustilaginomycetes</i>, and <i>Eurotiomycetes</i>

“…Fungal spores, which are the reproductive structures in the lifecycle of fungi, are abundant in the atmosphere (Després et al, 2012;Madelin, 1994;Bauer et al, 2008). Average fungal spore concentrations of 1 to 10 L −1 have been reported in the continental boundary layer (Elbert et al, 2007) and peak concentrations of 20 to 35 L −1 have been previously observed (Oliveira et al, 2005;Ho et al, 2005;Goncalves et al, 2010;Quintero et al, 2010;Khattab and Levetin, 2008;Nayar and Jothish, 2013). These spores can be transported large distances and transported to high altitudes in the troposphere (Hirst et al, 1967;Gregory, 1978;Bowers et al, 2009;Amato et al, 2007;Ebner et al, 1989;Fulton, 1966;Kelly and Pady, 1953;Pady and Kelly, 1953;Pady and Kapica, 1955;Proctor and Parker, 1938) and even into the stratosphere (Smith et al, 2010;Imshenetsky et al, 1978;Griffin, 2004).…”

“…Ustilaginomycetes spores have frequently been identified from surface air samples (Mallo et al, 2011;Pyrri and Kapsanaki-Gotsi, 2007) and have been shown to make up to a third of the total fungal spores in some regions (Herrero et al, 2006;Morales et al, 2006;Hasnain et al, 2005;Mitakakis and Guest, 2001). Boundary layer concentrations have been measured to be roughly 0.05 to 6 L −1 (Nayar and Jothish, 2013;Magyar et al, 2009;Khattab and Levetin, 2008;Pyrri and Kapsanaki-Gotsi, 2007;Morales et al, 2006;Hasnain et al, 2005;Wu et al, 2004;Troutt and Levetin, 2001;Sabariego et al, 2000;Calderon et al, 1995;Hirst, 1953;Gregory, 1952), and spores from this class have been identified at high altitudes in the troposphere by Pady and Kelly (1954).…”

“…The specific types of spores from the class Eurotiomycetes that were studied here are from the Penicillium and Aspergillus genera. These spores are frequently present in surface air Kapsanaki-Gotsi, 2012, 2007;Goncalves et al, 2010;Mallo et al, 2011;Shelton et al, 2002;Fröhlich-Nowoisky et al, 2009) and they often represent a large majority of identified spores (up to 35 %) with typical surface concentrations of roughly 0.1 to 5 L −1 (Nayar and Jothish, 2013;Fernández et al, 2012;Crawford et al, 2009;Pyrri and Kapsanaki-Gotsi, 2012;Quintero et al, 2010;Khattab and Levetin, 2008;Wu et al, 2004;Li and Kendrick, 1995). During periods of high spore productivity, concentrations of Penicillium spores as high as 10 L −1 have been observed (Pyrri and Kapsanaki-Gotsi, 2012).…”