Preliminary studies on the effect of the Burkard alternate orifice on airborne fungal spore concentrations |
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Authors: | Abeer Khattab Estelle Levetin |
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Institution: | (1) Faculty of Biological Science, The University of Tulsa, 600 South College Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA |
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Abstract: | The Burkard 7-day spore trap with standard orifice is commonly used by researchers in sampling outdoor air. The alternate
orifice is reported to have higher efficiency in collecting small airborne fungal spores; however, no previous studies compared
Burkard samplers with different orifices. This study was conducted to study the effect of the alternate orifice on the concentration
of airborne fungal spores. Air samples were collected from July to October 2005 with two Burkard spore traps, one had the
standard orifice and the second had the alternate orifice. The two spore traps were located on the roof of a building (12 m
height) at the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Burkard daily slides were analyzed for airborne spores by light microscopy.
The data from the two samplers were statistically analyzed using t-tests. The results indicated that the alternate orifice had significantly higher concentrations of Penicillium/Aspergillus-type spores and basidiospores than the standard orifice. By contrast, the standard orifice had significantly higher concentrations
of Alternaria, ascospores, and other spores than the alternate orifice. The alternate orifice can be used to increase the efficiency of
trapping small spores, which can be underestimated by using the standard orifice. However, additional comparison in other
months of the year is recommended. |
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Keywords: | Aerobiology Airborne fungal spores Alternate orifice Burkard Standard orifice |
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