An attempt at hydroacoustic localization of an open-circuit scuba diver.

Passive acoustic monitoring of scuba divers is a promising way to ensure the safety of recreational divers and prevent waterside intrusion by terrorists. It is shown experimentally that the low-frequency underwater respiratory-associated noise of an open-circuit scuba diver can be used successfully to monitor the respiratory rate at distances of up to 100 m. Respiratory-associated noise in the frequency band of 30-1200 Hz provides the possibility of localizing an open-circuit scuba diver in a noisy shallow-water area by using two pairs of hydrophones at distances of up to 220 m and with a predominant discrepancy of no more than 10 m in comparison with Global Positioning System data.

How Poor Is Aphyllophoroid Fungi Diversity in the Boreal Urban Greenhouses of Eastern Europe?

It is generally accepted that mycobiota diversity in urban greenhouses is poorer than in natural ecosystems, but our knowledge on this field of research is fragmentary. Here, we present the results of a long-term study of aphyllophoroid macrofungi (Basidiomycota) forming fruitbodies on non-native sub/tropical woody and herbaceous plants in the greenhouses of Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Ekaterinburg botanical gardens located in the hemiboreal vegetation subzone of Eastern Europe. Over 20 years of research, fruitbodies of 58 species of aphyllophoroid fungi have been identified. Fungal species that developed on the wooden structures of greenhouses and building materials made of local wood are discussed separately. The list of fungi on non-native substrates is dominated by saprobes (93.1% of total list) as well as mycorrhizal with basidiomata on plants (8.6%). Phytopathogens have the lowest number (7.0%), and ¾ of species are widespread locally. Non-native plants are dominated by native fungal species (78.9%), while the percentage of non-native species is low (21.1%). In the three surveyed cities, the area of the studied greenhouses is 2.8 ha, and not a single species of fungi has been found twice on the same substrate. Half of the identified species are characterized by a single specimen (29 species/50.9%). Hymenochaete rheicolor was discovered in Russia for the first time and its known distribution is discussed. Only six (Antrodia gossypium, Hyphodontia arguta, Lyomyces sambuci, Peniophora cinerea, Ramariopsis kunzei, and Trechispora farinacea) local species (10.5%) were collected in all the three cities. The α-diversity of mycobiota (mean number of species per site, Shannon Index, and Menhinick Index) in the Ekaterinburg's greenhouses is 1.2-3.0 times lower compared to suburban forest parks and old-growth natural forests, while ß-diversity (Whittaker Index, Jaccard Index, and Morisita-Horn Index), on the contrary, is 2.1-7.7 times higher. With the plants' age, the probability of detecting fungi on them increases significantly. In greenhouses, phytopathogenic aphyllophoroid macrofungi are collected on woody plants only, but the probability of their development is not related to the plants' age.

Uphill Shifts of Fungal Fruiting Due to Climate Change at the Polar Urals.

Due to the ongoing climatic changes in the Arctic, the ranges of many plants and animal species are rising higher into the mountains, into the treeline; however, such studies are rare for fungi. The 60-year fruiting dynamics of 66 species of Agaricomycetous macrofungi has been studied along the altitudinal transect located on the slope of Slantsevaya Mountain (Polar Urals, Russia). It has been found that the three basic trophic groups (mycorrhizal, saprobes on litter and soil, and saprobes on wood) fruit higher in the mountains. Additionally, for most of the studied species, a tendency towards upward displacement of fruiting was revealed. The rise in fruiting for saprobes on litter and soil was the most obvious. Mycorrhizal fungi associated with woody plants showed the least uplifting effect. Fungal species that were characterized by fruiting higher up the mountainside half a century ago show stronger upward shifts compared to species previously bearing fruit only at the mountain foot. Probably, such a reaction of the aboveground mycobiota is similar to the processes occurring in the soil, which are associated with an active increase in the decomposition rate of the litter, an increase in the depth of permafrost thawing, and a significant redistribution of the soil water balance. On the other hand, the rise of fungi is associated with an increase of plant biomass in the middle and upper parts, which are the most important sources of fungal nutrition.

Occurrences of Threatened Species included in the Third Edition of the Red Data Book of the Komi Republic (Russia).

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the data paper was to introduce into scientific literature the results of scientific work carried out for the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic'. The article reflects methodological approaches to the formation of a list of rare and in need of protection species and describes the corresponding datasets published in GBIF. NEW INFORMATION: Information about 7,187 occurrences of 438 rare species and infraspecies included in the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic' have been published.

Fungal literature records database of the Northern West Siberia (Russia).

BACKGROUND: Mycological research in the Northern part of West Siberia has now become sufficient for review and digitisation as over 460 scientific works have been completed mainly since the beginning of the 20th century. The history of research in the region started from isolated studies at the beginning of the 20th century, but regular and systematic research started from the 1970s. Over the following decades, several dozens of researchers have worked in the area, but the reported occurrences were scattered amongst a broad variety of publications, mainly hardly available. The great need in digitisation and accumulation of fungal records reported in published literature in a standardised regional database has now become evident. The «Fungal records database of the Northern West Siberia¼ (FuNWS) was initiated in 2016 according to contemporary biodiversity data standards (Darwin Core), to be compatible and accessible by the broad research community. The database has been supplemented ever since by the collective effort of specialists working in the area. According to the database summary report, there are 3358 fungal and fungus-like species revealed in the Northern West Siberia at present. The richest in species number classes are Agaricomycetes (60%) and Lecanoromycetes (33%) with a total of 25 classes represented. The FuNWS database was uploaded to Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Ygra State University Biological Collection publisher) on 11 November 2017 (earlier titled «Fungal Records Database of Yugra, FReDY¼) to provide open access to the data and its reusability (Filippova et al. 2020). NEW INFORMATION: This publication summarises the results of the digitisation of literature-based occurrence records of fungi and fungus-like organisms initiated in the Northern part of West Siberia for the first time in the history of mycological research. The bibliography of regional mycological publications was created to include about 460 published works (Suppl. material 2). In total, about 140 literature sources were digitised and about 22000 occurrence records were integrated into the FuNWS database (Filippova et al. 2020).

Relationship between Species Richness, Biomass and Structure of Vegetation and Mycobiota along an Altitudinal Transect in the Polar Urals.

Aboveground species richness patterns of vascular plants, aphyllophoroid macrofungi, bryophytes and lichens were compared along an altitudinal gradient (80-310 m a.s.l.) on the Slantsevaya mountain at the eastern macroslope of the Polar Urals (Russia). Five altitudinal levels were included in the study: (1) Northern boreal forest with larch-spruce in the Sob' river valley habitats; (2-3) two levels of closed, northern boreal, larch-dominated forests on the slopes; (4) crook-stemmed forest; (5) tundra habitats above the timberline. Vascular plant or bryophyte species richness was not affected by altitudinal levels, but lichen species richness significantly increased from the river valley to the tundra. For aphyllophoroid macrofungi, species richness was highest at intermediate and low altitudes, and poorest in the tundra. These results indicate a positive ecotone effect on aphyllophoroid fungal species richness. The species richness of aphyllophoroid fungi as a whole was neither correlated to mortmass stocks, nor to species richness of vascular plants, but individual ecological or morphological groups depended on these parameters. Poroid fungal species richness was positively correlated to tree age, wood biomass and crown density, and therefore peaked in the middle of the slope and at the foot of the mountain. In contrast, clavarioid fungal species richness was negatively related to woody bio- and mortmass, and therefore peaked in the tundra. This altitudinal level was characterized by high biomass proportions of lichens and mosses, and by high litter mortmass. The proportion of corticoid fungi increased with altitude, reaching its maximum at the timberline. Results from the different methods used in this work were concordant, and showed significant patterns. Tundra communities differ significantly from the forest communities, as is also confirmed by nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analyses based on the spectrum of morphological and ecological groups of aphyllophoroid fungi.

How to resolve cryptic species of polypores: an example in Fomes.

Species that cannot be easily distinguished based on morphology, but which form distinct phylogenetic lineages based on molecular markers, are often referred to as cryptic species. They have been proposed in a number of fungal genera, including the basidiomycete genus Fomes. The main aim of this work was to test new methods for species delimitation in cryptic lineages of polypores, and to define useful characters for species identification. A detailed examination of a number of different Fomes strains that had been collected and isolated from different habitats in Italy and Austria confirmed the presence of distinct lineages in the Fomes fomentarius clade. Our zero hypothesis was that the Mediterranean strains growing on Quercus represent a species which can be delimited based on morphological and physiological characters when they are evaluated in statistically relevant numbers. This hypothesis was tested based on phylogenetic analysis of the rDNA ITS region, morphological characters of basidiomes and pure cultures, growth rates and optimum growth temperature experiments, mycelial confrontation tests, enzyme activity tests and volatile organic compound (VOC) production. The Mediterranean lineage can unambiguously be delimited from F. fomentarius. A syntype of an obscure and previously synonymized name, Polyporus inzengae, represents the Mediterranean lineage that we recognize as Fomes inzengae, a distinct species. The rDNA ITS region is useful for delimitation of Fomes species. Moreover, also a variety of morphological characters including hymenophore pore size, basidiospore size, and diameter of skeletal hyphae are useful delimiting characters. The ecology is also very important, because the plant host appears to be a central factor driving speciation. Physiological characters turned also out to be species-specific, e.g. daily mycelial growth rates or the temperature range of pure cultures. The production of VOCs can be considered as a very promising tool for fast and reliable species delimitation in the future.

Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution.

Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny. Here, using multigene and genome-based data, we assemble a 5,284-species phylogenetic tree and infer ages and broad patterns of speciation/extinction and morphological innovation in mushroom-forming fungi. Agaricomycetes started a rapid class-wide radiation in the Jurassic, coinciding with the spread of (sub)tropical coniferous forests and a warming climate. A possible mass extinction, several clade-specific adaptive radiations and morphological diversification of fruiting bodies followed during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene, convergently giving rise to the classic toadstool morphology, with a cap, stalk and gills (pileate-stipitate morphology). This morphology is associated with increased rates of lineage diversification, suggesting it represents a key innovation in the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi. The increase in mushroom diversity started during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic radiation event, an era of humid climate when terrestrial communities dominated by gymnosperms and reptiles were also expanding.

Longitudinal changes of clavarioid funga (Basidiomycota) diversity in the tundra zone of Eurasia.

The study deals with certain variations of the diversity level of clavarioid funga in the 33 localities (100 km2 each) inside seven longitudinal sectors (100,000 km2) situated along the gradient of the climatic continentality of the Eurasian tundra zone. As continentality increases, from the maritime climate of Fennoscandia to the continental climate of Yakutia, α-diversity and γ-diversity decrease considerably. On the other side, spatial turnover of species, or ß-diversity, grows in the direction of continental areas. This paper uses the following methods to assess the spatial turnover: Whittaker's index and mean Jaccard similarity index, as well as by several other parameters. In addition, our data show that the genus Typhula is richest in the tundra, and its share in the structure of the clavarioid funga grows as the studied area decreases, as well as when the environmental conditions become more severe (continentality of the climate). Also, the paper discusses the issue of newly emerging taiga fungi species in the European Arctic, which is connected with climatic warming followed by ″greening″ of the tundra. Note that in the cryo-semiarid continental climate of Yakutia, where climatic changes are just as pronounced, no new taxons have been discovered so far.