Patterns of Diversity, Structure and Local Ecology of Arthropod-Pathogenic Fungi in the Amazonian Forest of Cusco and Madre de Dios Regions, Southern Peru

The ecological role and potential management of arthropod-pathogenic fungi (APF) in neotropical forests are of great importance, but they are still little studied. The present study achieves a first estimation of diversity patterns, structure and local ecology of APF in the Amazonian forests of the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions in southern Peru. We sampled 39 localities in five basins, examining 277 specimens, four families and 20 genera with 82 species (40% morphospecies). The most diverse families were Cordycipitaceae with 51 species and Ophiocordicipitaceae (22). Cusco obtained a greater diversity: four families, 18 genera and 58 morphospecies, with the Urubamba and Amarumayu basins having greater diversity (31 and 20 species); for the Madre de Dios basin, there was 28 species. In both regions, the richness values were corroborated by Fisher’s Alpha and Chao-1 indexes, the latter identifies Amarumayu and Araza with maximum values. The NMDS analysis showed a good pattern of separation of the two APF communities, although an important group was shared. Elevation was identified as the environmental variable with the strongest influence on diversity and structure. The dominance analysis identified Ophiocordyceps australis and Paraisaria amazonica as hyperdominant, due to their density and distribution. The local ecological patterns in Pongo de Qoñec show that the richness of entomopathogens is largely favored by low understory light, associated with pristine or little-impacted habitats. We conclude that this first approximation of the knowledge of the high diversity of APF in southern Peru is still insufficient, but it demonstrates the importance of their conservation and represents enormous potential for sustainable management.