Studies on myxobiota of Canakkale and its environment

Studies on Turkish Myxomycetes Flora in Turkey are very recent and myxobiota has not been research comprehensively yet. Up to now, number of species determined in the studies conducted on myxomycete taxonomy is 222 and this figure indicates a very small ratio considering the over 1000 myxomycete species mentioned all over the world. So that there is a great need for an increase in the frequency of taxonomical and floristical studies in our country.In this study intended to determine Myxobiota of Canakkale and its environment and to insert new records to the myxobiota, organic materials such as barks, cutten wood blocks, rubbish and decaying leaves and tree branches and plant materials were collected in the excursions conducted between March 2006 and September 2009. Moist chamber technique was applied by ensuring incubation conditions suitable for the material collected. Myxomycete fructifications, which had completed development in the natural environment, were attached to appropriate boxes in the field, the location and field details were recorded and they were transported to the laboratory for preparing diagnosis preparations.As a result of the study, totally 38 taxa belonging to 10 families and 17 genera were determined including 23 taxa from natural environment and 15 taxa from moist chamber technique. Two of these taxa have been recorded for the first time for Turkey. These new records are; Comatricha suksdorfii Ellis & Everh. and Diderma effusum (Schwein.) Morgan. Up to now, total number of the myxomycetes in Canakkale province has been reached to 61 species belonging to 12 families 21 genera with the previous studies.