Cellular slime molds in Ozark caves.
Ashley, David
During the course of visits made to a number of caves in Arkansas,
Missouri and Oklahoma, samples of cave "soil" material were
collected for the purpose of isolating dictyostelid cellular slime
molds. These samples were processed in the laboratory, using standard
isolation procedures. While samples from some of the caves were devoid
of recoverable dictyostelids, material taken from many of the others
yielded a modest variety and abundance of dictyostelid species. In
addition to the fairly cosmopolitan species Dictyostelium mucoroides,
Polysphondylium pallidum and P. violaceum, four or five other species
were recovered, including numerous isolates of D. rosarium from a number
of different caves. Based upon these data and an earlier study of West
Virginia caves, D. rosarium appears to have a preference or at least a
particular tolerance for cave environments. This project was supported
in part by the National Science Foundation, University of Arkansas,
Shepherd University, and The Nature Conservancy.
Landolt, J.C., M.E. Slay *, S.L. Stephenson. Department of Biology,
Shepherd University. Ozark Highlands Office, The Nature Conservancy.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas.
