Sandhya S. Bhosale, Prasad J. Bankar and M.B. Kanade
Abstract
The present study investigates the diversity and distribution of dominant freshwater fungi from freshwater foam samples collected from four lakes viz. Shirsuphal, Supe, Nimbodi and Waki located in Baramati Tahsil of Pune district, Maharashtra, India. A total of five fungal species belonging to two major groups, Ascomycetes and Hyphomycetes, were recorded. The documented species include Ascosacculus heterogattulata, Caryospora putaminum, Tetraploa aristata, Canalisporium exiguum and Dendrospora erecta. Among these, Ascosacculus heterogattulata and Canalisporium exiguum were widely distributed and recorded from all four lakes, indicating their broad ecological adaptability. In contrast, Caryospora putaminum and Tetraploa aristata exhibited limited distribution, while Dendrospora erecta was absent from Waki Lake, suggesting habitat specificity and the influence of local environmental conditions on fungal occurrence.