Ecological niche modeling of some Costa Rican myxomycetes

Abstract

Ecological niche modeling has not been used extensively in studies of myxomycetes but can provide important information for research efforts to develop a better understanding of the ecology of these organisms. With a dataset of myxomycete records for the five most commonly recorded species in Costa Rica, a series of probability distribution models was generated using the maximum entropy technique. The latter was carried out with the objective of evaluating the usefulness of such protocols to provide feedback for future research. Models showed Arcyria cinerea and Didymium iridis to have wider but more moderate probability distributions in comparison with Physarum compressum, Didymium squamulosum and Hemitrichia calyculata. Elevation was the variable that contributed the most to all ecological niche models, but a greater number of studies have been carried out in Costa Rica at high elevations. As such, it seems that the models showed the need for low elevation systematic surveys more realistically than providing a representation of the niche and distribution for the species being considered. However, this study does serves as baseline for future assessments of myxomycete distribution patterns in the framework of climate change.