Fungi associated with Onychiurus subtenuis (Collembola) in an aspen woodland

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Abstract
The collembolan Onychiurus subtenuis was extracted from the litter (L), fermentation (F1, F2), and humus (H) layers of an aspen woodland and the fungi associated with the body and faeces were determined. Over 100 species of fungi belonging mainly to the Zygomycotina and Deuteromycotina were isolated, with the number of propagules and taxa per animal tending to decrease from the L to H layers. The fungi having the highest frequency on the greatest number of Collembola were organisms that sporulate prolifically in laboratory culture, including Beauveria bassiana, Cladosporium spp., Mortierella alpina, Penicillium raistrickii, and Verticillium spp. These organisms also occurred on animals extracted from all litter layers. Most taxa, however, were isolated from Collembola extracted from only one or two litter layers. Fungal taxa associated with Collembola from the F1 and F2 and F2 and H were layers most similar, while those associated with Collembola from the L and F2–H layers were least similar. Of the 97 faecal pellets plated on synthetic media, approximately 50% exhibited fungal growth with the fungi being similar to those present on the collembolan body. The fungi most frequently associated with O. subtenuis could be categorized into three functional groups: (i) litter–soil saprophytes; (ii) the insect parasite Beauveria bassiana; and (iii) mycoparasites. The role of O. subtenuis in dispersing fungal propagules as it relates to the life-history strategies of the fungi involved is discussed.