Studies on the mycoflora of Aswan High Dam Lake, Egypt: Monthly variations

✍ Scribed by Prof. Dr. F. T. El-Hissy; A. M. Moharram; S. A. El-Zayat

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 607 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0233-111X
• DOI: 10.1002/jobm.3620300207

✦ Synopsis

Fifty-one species and one variety appertaining to twenty one genera of mesophilic fungi were recovered from the monthly samples of marginal water (44 species, 1 variety and 28 genera) and submerged mud (78 species, 1 variety and 30 genera) of Aswan High Dam Lake during the period from July 1985 to December 1986. The most common species were Aspergillus fumigatus, A. jlavus, A . terreus, A . niger and Penicillium funiculosum. The highest fungal populations were almost detected either in October, in December 1985 or in February 1986. Of the 12 thermophilic and themotolerant fungal species, A. fumigalus and A . nidulans were the most common. Paecilomyces variotii, Rhizomucor pusillus, Thermomyces Ianuginosus, Thermoascus thermophilus and Sporotrichum thermophilum were fairly common in one locality or more. The physico-chemical characteristics of water and mud samples were also followed.

Aswan High Dam Lake is considered as one of the greatest man made lakes in Africa. It is a huge created reservoir extending about 300 kilometers in south Egypt together with lake Nubia about 18Okm in north Sudan. Nevertheless very little and fragmentary works were devoted to the lake to follow the alterations in physicochemical and biological characteristics. These works dealt with fishes (RASHID 1977), phytoplanktons (EL-OTIFY 1985) and bacteria (SHABEB 1985). However, no reports are available on the fungal flora suspended in the lake water or inhabiting the submerged mud. This investigation was conducted to follow the monthly variations of mesophilic, thermophilic and thermotolerant terrestrial fungi in both water and submerged mud of Aswan High Dam Lake.