Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28919
Title: Reptilian Mycophagy: A global review of mutually beneficial associations between reptiles and macrofungi
Contributor(s): Elliott, T F  (author)orcid ; Bower, D S  (author)orcid ; Vernes, K  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2019
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.5943/mycosphere/10/1/18Open Access Link
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28919
Abstract: Macrofungi are an important food source for many mammals, birds and arthropods; in return, these animals disperse numerous species of fungi through their scats. Many of the fungi that are important as food also perform key functions in the ecosystem through nutrient cycling. Research on associations between reptiles and fungi has primarily focused on pathology and has mostly overlooked mutually beneficial relationships between these two groups of organisms and the positive impacts of their associations on overall ecosystem health. There is a substantial body of disparate research showing the importance of turtles as seed dispersers, but we provide the first study evaluating the ecological implications of turtles and other reptiles as macrofungi spore dispersers. These associations have been less thoroughly studied than those between mammals and fungi, yet we show that they have similar ecological importance. In this review, we present the most comprehensive summary to date of reptile species reported to eat fungi (42 reptile species in 7 families) and outline the potential importance of reptiles as spore dispersers for fungi that play a positive role in ecosystem dynamics. We also show that oversights in the methodology of past dietary studies may have led to false representation of the role of fungi in reptile diets, and we make recommendations for future dietary studies involving reptiles.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Mycosphere, 10(1), p. 776-797
Publisher: Mycosphere Press
Place of Publication: China
ISSN: 2077-7019
2077-7000
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060208 Terrestrial Ecology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 310308 Terrestrial ecology
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960805 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 180203 Coastal or estuarine biodiversity
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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