Exotic rats consume sporocarps of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in American Samoa
Abstract We sampled three exotic species of rats ( Rattus exulans , Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus ) by live-trapping along two transects on Tutuila, American Samoa and searched for evidence of mycophagy by examining fecal pellets. We found spores of three species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fung...
| Published in: | Mammalia |
|---|---|
| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2016-0135 http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/mamm.2018.82.issue-2/mammalia-2016-0135/mammalia-2016-0135.xml https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/mammalia-2016-0135/xml https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/mammalia-2016-0135/pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract We sampled three exotic species of rats ( Rattus exulans , Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus ) by live-trapping along two transects on Tutuila, American Samoa and searched for evidence of mycophagy by examining fecal pellets. We found spores of three species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ( Septoglomus constrictum , Rhizophagus clarus and Rhizophagus fasciculatus ) in 19 of the 26 samples examined. All the three species of rats consumed sporocarps, with R. clarus being the most widely consumed. We suggest that mycophagy by exotic rats is common in American Samoa and may facilitate invasion of exotic plants such as the tree Falcataria moluccana . |
|---|