Occurrence of soil microfungi in Beaulfort Island, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Soil samples from Beaufort Island, Ross Sea, Antarctica were collected during austral summer expedition 2004/2005 by the third author. The island is isolated and difficult to access. Very few records on the biota of this island were made. Beaufort Island is an important breeding area for penguins and skuas. Twenty three soil samples were inspected using modification of Warcup (1950) soil plating method. Twenty fungal species comprises of 13 ascomycetes, five unidentified species and two yeasts were isolated. Three species of Thelebolus, eight ascomycetes, two species of Geomyces, five hyphomycetes, and pink and white yeast were identified. The diversity of soil microfungi in Beaufort Island is dominated by ascomycetes. This is the first record for soil microfungi in Beaufort Island. It is also unusual for soil fungi diversity to be dominated by ascomycete may be this is due to the avian colonisation of the island.