Record of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato,the zombie-ant fungus,parasitizing Camponotus in an urban fragment of Atlantic Rainforest in southeastern Brazil |
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| Authors: | Bruno Corrêa Barbosa Vitor Ribeiro Halfeld João Paulo Machado de Araújo Tatiane Tagliatti Maciel Fábio Prezoto |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica (LABEC), Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazilbarbosa.bc@outlook.com;3. Laboratório de Protozoologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil;4. Department of Biology, Penn State University, University Park, State College, PA, USA;5. Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica (LABEC), Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | Ophiocordyceps is a fungal pathogen of ants of the tribe Camponotini. It is called zombie fungus, since it changes the host behavior, causing them to die in an exposed position, typically clinging onto and biting into the adaxial surface of shrub leaves. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of parasitic associations between Ophiocordyceps and ants of the genus Camponotus in an urban fragment of Atlantic Rainforest in southeastern Brazil and to measure the rate of hyperparasitism in Ophiocordyceps by other fungi in the same location. We found 57 individuals of four species of ants and three species of fungus. The age categories of fungi were equally distributed, and rate of hyperparasitism was 17.5% (n = 10). The sampled area was recognized as an important site of Ophiocordyceps occurrence. |
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| Keywords: | fungal diversity hypocreales host specificity parasite manipulation |
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