Abstract

GALINDEZ-CHICAIZA, Eliana et al. Fungi detected in insects associated to Espeletia pycnophylla. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2020, vol.23, n.2, e1497.  Epub July 30, 2020. ISSN 0123-4226.  https://doi.org/10.31910/rudca.v23.n2.2020.1497.

Some species of the genus Espeletia sp. (Asteraceae) are affected by phytopathogenic fungi and insects in the paramos of the Northern Andes, threatening their permanence and the provision of services attributed to them such as the regulation of the water cycle. The scarce information about the impact on the Paja Blanca páramo (Nariño, Colombia) makes it difficult to understand the dynamics of the phenomenon and the formulation of management strategies. The goal of this research was to identify changes in the composition of the insect communities associated to E. pycnophylla during the decline of the frailejon populations and to evaluate if these reflect modifications in the fungi associated with those insects. For this, insects were collected in healthy and affected E. pycnophylla plants to which ecological indices were applied to identify possible changes in diversity and composition, Also fungi were isolated and identified morphologically and molecularly from body structures of insects. As result, a considerable diversity of insects was identified and no modification in their composition of insects between the two states of frailejón were found. It was possible to isolate fungi such as Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis sp., Epicoccum nigrum, Cladosporium sp. from structures of the insect genera Neomyopites sp., Diabrotica sp., Bradysia sp. and Dyscolus sp. This study provides information about the entomofauna present in E. pycnopylla from the Paja Blanca páramo and fungi associated with body structures such as the alimentary canal and the oral system of insects.

Keywords : Alimentary canal; Oral apparatus; Phytosanitary; Phytopathogenic fungi; Asteraceae; Big monk.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )