Seasonal consumption of mycorrhizal fungi by a marsupial-dominated mammal community

The temperate forests of Australia support a high diversity of hypogeous fungi and a wide variety of mycophagous mammals, yet many mammal-fungal relationships are still poorly understood. We studied the seasonal fungal diets of eight sympatric mammals (seven marsupials and one rodent) in a remnant montane eucalypt forest. Fifty-five different fungal taxa were identified from 305 scat samples. Swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor), yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) and brown antechinus (A. stuartii) were the primary mycophagists in this community, but all mammals consumed fungi, including three species not previously recorded as mycophagous (eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus;common wallaroo, Osphranter robustus; and common dunnart, Sminthopsis murina). Winter was the peak season for fungal consumption and dietary diversity of fungi, however, the diversity of taxa ingested varied between species and season. Our work supports the idea that a diverse mycophagous mammal community is important for maintaining natural variation in fungal community composition.

Automated summary

The temperate forests of Australia have a diverse community of mycophagous mammals that consume a variety of fungi, but the relationships between mammals and fungi are still poorly understood. This study examined the seasonal fungal diets of eight sympatric mammals and identified 55 different fungal taxa. The results showed that winter was the peak season for fungal consumption and dietary diversity, with variation in the fungal taxa consumed between species and seasons. The study supports the importance of a diverse mycophagous mammal community for maintaining natural variation in fungal community composition.