doi:10.29203/ka.2020.493 Karstenia, Volume 58 (2020), Issue 2, pages 168-189 CHECKLIST www.karstenia.fi An annotated checklist slime molds (Myxomycetes = Myxogastrea) of western Kazakhstan Inna Zemlyanskaya1, Yuri Novozhilov2, Martin Schnittler3 Abstract 1 Volgograd State Medical University, Pavshikh Bortsov Winter-cold arid regions of western Kazakhstan Square 1, Volgograd 400131, Russia were surveyed for myxomycetes for a period of 20 2 Laboratory of Systematics and Geography of Fungi, years. A total of 3228 records belonging to 111 spe- Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy cies from 31 genera and 10 families are provided in of Sciences, Prof. Popov Str. 2, St. Petersburg 197376, an annotated checklist. The checklist contains data Russia on the localities, habitats, substrates, methods of 3 General Botany and Plant Systematics, Institute of collection and voucher numbers of specimens de- Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, Greifswald 17487, Germany posited in the mycological herbarium (LE) of the V.L. Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian * Corresponding author: Academy of Sciences. Additionally the bibliographic [email protected] references of the myxomycete species findings in the study area are given. Due to the very arid climate of Keywords: Amoebozoa, arid regions, biodiversity, the region, 2911 specimens (ca. 90%) were obtained steppe, desert, slime molds, species inventory, from 1653 moist chamber cultures prepared with Myxogastria, Kazakhstan samples taken from bark of living plants, litter and the weathered dung of herbivorous animals. Only Article info: 317 specimens of myxomycetes were collected di- Received: 4 August 2020 rectly in the field, mostly in woody artificial plan- Accepted: 11 September 2020 tations. The lowest species diversity was observed Published online: 13 October 2020 Corresponding Editor: Nikki Heherson A. Dagamac in habitats with halophytic vegetation, where on Assistant Editor: Oleg Schchepin average only 1–2 species were recorded per moist chamber culture. Only Perichaena depressa and P. 169 liceoides were common under such conditions. The vozhilov & Golubeva 1986; Novozhilov & Schnittler highest diversity of myxomycetes was observed in 2008) and the Tarim Basin with the adjacent moun- the intrazonal woody communities of the steppe tains of the eastern Tian-Shan in China (Schnittler zone, which are usually associated with river valleys et al. 2013) to explore the diversity of myxomycetes and artificial woody plantations. In these habitats in the winter-cold steppes and deserts of Eurasia. lignicolous species occurred: Amaurochaete atra, Here we present the results of a survey targeting one Arcyria obvelata, Cribraria cancellata, Lamproderma of the largest geographical regions of the Republic of scintillans, Lycogala epidendrum, Metatrichia vespar- Kazakhstan, Western Kazakhstan. ia, Oligonema flavidum, Stemonitis axifera, S. fusca, The first information on myxomycetes of West- S. herbatica, S.pallida, Symphytocarpus confluens, ern Kazakhstan is provided in the early monograph and Trichia contorta. However, the apparently most of A.A. Yachevskiy (1907), which indicates only one common species of myxomycetes in the studied species - Mucilago crustacea Wigg. Later, three spe- area are associated with litter or bark: Badhamia fo- cies: Badhamia utricularis (Bull.) Berk., Fuligo septica liicola, B. spinispora, Didymium anellus, D. difforme, (L.) F.H. Wigg., and Lycogala flavofuscum (Ehrenb.) D. trachysporum, Echinostelium colliculosum, Fuligo Rostaf. were registered in the woody communities cinerea, Licea denudescens, L. nannengae, L. para- (Vasyagina et al. 1977). The first systematic survey in sitica, Macbrideola oblonga, Pericaena depressa, P. this region was carried out in 1995 by M. Schnittler, corticalis, P. liceoides, P. vermicularis, Physarum ci- within an expedition led by I.N. Safronova, focus- nereum, and Ph. pseudonotabile. Among substrate ing on the Mangyshlak Peninsula (Schnittler & No- types, species diversity and richness decrease from vozhilov 2000; Schnittler 2001), these authors identi- wood over ground litter to bark, and dung of her- fied 513 myxomycete collections with 27 species, all bivorous animals. Shannon diversity and species obtained in moist chamber cultures. richness reached maximum values in the intrazonal Subsequently, several field trips (2004-2007) in and artificial woody communities, whereas treeless Kazakhstan were conducted by the authors of this sagebrush desert and dry steppe communities and, paper, resulting in additional myxomycetes spe- halophytic vegetation had the most depauperate yet cies collected over many years with the support of most specific myxomycete assemblages. Assemblag- the grant “Planetary Biodiversity Inventions: Glob- es associated with these vegetation types displayed al Biodiversity of Eumycetozoans” (NSF grant No. a high level of similarity to those of myxomycete 0316284, Co-principal Investigator Prof. S.L. Ste- assemblages from other arid regions of Kazakh- phenson) and several grants of the Russian Foun- stan and Central Asia. In contrast, assemblages of dation of Basic Research (Novozhilov et al. 2003, the artificial woody plantations in the study region 2006; Novozhilov, Schnittler & Zemlyanskaya 2005a, displayed a high level of similarity to those of boreal 2005b, 2005c; Zemlyanskaya, Adamonyte & Krivom- forest regions of Siberia for which data exist, but dif- az 2005; Novozhilov & Zemlyanskaya 2020). fered from the assemblages documented from tree- less desert and steppe regions of Eurasia. Materials and methods Introduction Study area This paper continues a series of surveys throughout Western Kazakhstan is an economic and geograph- arid regions of Eurasia, reaching from the Caspian ical region of the Republic of Kazakhstan and bor- Lowland (Novozhilov et al. 2006) and western Ka- ders in the north with the Russian Federation, and zakhstan (Schnittler & Novozhilov 2000) over inner in the south with the republics of Uzbekistan and mountain basins of the Russian Altay (Novozhilov Turkmenistan. It occupies 736 129 km ² (Nursultan, et al. 2009; Novozhilov et al. 2010) to Mongolia (No- 2008) and centered on the East European Plain (Fig. 1) 170 Fig. 1. Schematic map of the study area, numbers and circles indicate the 76 sampled localities. Map sources: Google Earth (modified). from the eastern outskirts of the Volga Delta in the larger trees are absent. The largest rivers of western west, to the Turan Lowland in the southeast, from Kazakhstan, the Ural and Emba, drain into the Cas- the southern spurs of the Urals and Obshchy Syrt in pian Sea basin. Their water is rich in minerals, and the north, to the Ustyurt Plateau and the coast of the this often applies to the ground water in the region, Caspian Sea in the south, including the Mangyshlak predominant is a mineralization of the sodium chlo- Peninsula (Chibilev et al. 2018). In contrast to the ride-magnesium type (Golub & Yuritsyna 2013). uniform sagebrush desert of the Ustyurt Plateau, the The vegetation of Western Kazakhstan can be desert of the Mangyschlak Peninsula is characterised attributed to the Aral-Caspian (Turan) province by a more rugged relief, basically formed by a Plateau of the Iran-Turan region (Ogureeva 2018). There furrowed by numerous deep depressions and can- are three main steppe subzones within Western yons. Stony badlands dominate, harbouring a scanty Kazakhstan from north to south: the northern vegetation of small shrubs and annual plants. With steppe, the middle steppe and the southern steppe, the exception of some trees around artificial wells, as well as two desert subzones: the northern and 171 middle deserts (Chibilev et al.2018). Within Western aphylla L., Alhagi pseudalhagi (M. Bieb.) Desv. ex Kazakhstan, steppes are found in the northern part Shap., Atriplex cana C.A. Mey., Pyankovia brachiata of the Caspian lowland and on the Poduralskoe Pla- Akhani & Roalson, Salsola arbusculiformis Drobow, teau; while deserts occupy the southern part of the Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) Gueldenst., accom- Caspian lowland, the Ustyurt plateau and the Man- panied by grasses like Stipa capillata L., S. sareptana gyshlak Peninsula (Volkova et al. 2003, Safronova A.K. Becker, and Festuca rupicola Heuff. et al. 1999a, b; Safronova 2005a, b, 2008, 2010a, b). CASPIAN LOWLAND: LOC. 5: 7.8 km north- The region is characterized by an extremely conti- west of the village Zelenoye, Aksaj river valley, nental, arid climate with long, cold and dry winters sagebrush white cool desert and grasses commu- (-20–-30 °C) alternating with short but hot summers nities, 48°10´31˝N, 51°27´28˝E. LOC. 7: Dzhany- where temperatures can raise up to 42–46 ° C, during bek research station of the Institute of Forestry of which 70–90 % of all precipitation falls as rather the Russian Academy of Sciences, ˝Steppe reser- brief thunderstorms. The study area receives only vation˝, 49°23´53˝N, 46°47´52˝E. LOC. 8: 6.4 km 160 mm (in the south) to 320 mm annual precipita- south of the village Krasnogorskoye, 49°35´33˝N, tion (in the north). The humidification coefficient 50°39´02˝E. LOC. 12: small depression over clayish increases from 0.1–0.2 in the south to 0.3 in the ground, temporarily with fresh water, dominated north (Golub & Yuritsyna 2013). by Artemisia abrotanum L., 47°47’30”N, 47°14’01”E. The prevailing type of soil in the studied are is LOC. 13: S-exp. upper slope of the Great Bogdo Mt., a sandy, weakly alkaline Burozem (light brown soil) 48°08’20”N, 47°20’40”E. LOC. 14: stony badlands with a low content of organic matter. At the same with half-desert shrubs and many perennial plants, time, salty soils occupy a significant proportion weakly salt- influenced limestone, 48°08’20”N, of the region. Thus, salinity, grazing pressure and 47°20’40”E. LOC. 15: Azgir Mt., 47°49´43˝N, edaphic moisture are the most important factors 47°55´18˝E. LOC. 16: Azgir Mt., 47°49´43˝N, determining the vegetation, which often changes 47°55´13˝E. LOC. 22: 80 km north of the town over short distances (Chibilev et al. 2018). Atyrau, Kurajly channel, 47°52´56˝N, 52°08´31˝E.