Coprophilous Fungi

Abstract

Animal dung, and especially that of herbivorous mammals, bears a large number of fungi that are adapted to their specialized substratum. Various adaptations are commonly found:

• Mechanisms of violent spore discharge. These are often phototropically orientated and effective over relatively large distances. They ensure that the spores are carried away from the dung (Ingold, 1971).

• Adhesive projectiles. These become attached to herbage and may survive for long periods without being washed off or losing viability.

• Spores which can survive digestion, and which may be triggered to germinate following exposure to the chemical and physical environment of the animal gut (Sussman and Halvorson, 1966). In most cases, germination probably does not occur in the gut, but in the voided faeces (Johnson and Preece, 1979; Kuthubutheen and Webster, 1986b). Fungi which have survived digestion and appear on dung have been termed endocoprophilous (Larsen, 1971).

• Specialized nutritional requirements for substances found in dung which may stimulate growth and sporulation. Some coprophilous fungi also appear to be adapted to grow under the conditions of relatively high pH found in dung.