Marasmius jalapensis

Biogeography of macrofungi from the Chiquibul Forest of Belize

Fungal communities, especially those located in the tropics, are complex and considered by most scientists to be extremely diverse. The objectives of this work are to study the macrofungi of the Chiquibul Forest and to construct a better understanding of the biogeographical relationship between fungi from Belize and North America.

The Chiquibul Forest Reserve is located in the Maya Mountains of Belize and represents one of the largest remaining continuous tracts of tropical rainforest in Central America. Our understanding of the natural history of fungi in the Chiquibul Forest is still very fragmentary and much work remains to be done to fill the gaps in our knowledge. We already know that certain floristic elements are shared between North and Central America and that floristic exchange between these areas probably occurred during favorable climatic episodes in the past. The fungal material collected to date in the Chiquibul and adjacent areas supports this and indicates that there is a fairly strong biogeographical relationship between the mycoflora of Belize and that of the southeastern United States.

Chiquibul Forest Reserve

Lentaria surculus

The full extent of the biogeographical connection between the fungi of Belize and North America remains to be seen. An assessment of the genetic differentiation among populations of certain fungal species distributed from the United States into Belize is planned and will help elucidate how these distribution patterns developed. In addition to the biogeographical aspects of this study, there is a need for much more descriptive work on the mycoflora of Belize.

The mycoflora of the Chiquibul is composed primarily of species that are saprophytic. Some of these saprophytic species (ie Geastrum saccatum) are widely distributed through both temperate and tropical areas. Others are strictly tropical in distribution.

Geastrum saccatum