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1 March 2015 An Experimental Test of Epi- and Endozoochory of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Spores by Small Mammals in a Maryland Forest
John Zaharick, Harald Beck, Vanessa Beauchamp
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Abstract

Small mammals have been proposed as important dispersers of the spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), yet few data exist to support this hypothesis. We experimentally tested 2 models of small-mammal dispersal of AMF spores by quantifying their impact on the mycorrhizal inoculum potential of sterile soil flats in a northeast mesophytic forest in Maryland. Epizoochory did not provide a mechanism for spore dispersal in our study. However, our data demonstrated that endozoochory by several small-mammal species can be an effective dispersal mode for AMF. In the field experiment, inoculum potential of soil from plots that were accessible to Peromyscus leucopus (White-footed Mouse) was significantly higher than in control plots, which excluded small mammals. This study provides experimental evidence that White-footed Mice disperse AMF spores.

John Zaharick, Harald Beck, and Vanessa Beauchamp "An Experimental Test of Epi- and Endozoochory of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Spores by Small Mammals in a Maryland Forest," Northeastern Naturalist 22(1), 163-177, (1 March 2015). https://doi.org/10.1656/045.022.0123
Published: 1 March 2015
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