DNA barcode analyses improve accuracy in fungal species distribution models

Species distribution models based on environmental predictors are useful to explain a species geographic range. For many groups of organisms, including fungi, the increase of occurrence data sets has generalized their use. However, fungal species are not always easy to distinguish, and taxonomy of many groups is not completely settled. This study explores the effect of taxonomic uncertainty in databases used for modeling fungal distributions. We analyze distribution models for three morphospecies from the corticioid genus Xylodon (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota), comparing models based on species names on vouchers specimens with models derived from species identified by DNA barcode. Differences in the contribution of predictors driving the distribution of each modeled taxon and the extent of their ranges were studied. Records under Xylodon paradoxus, X. flaviporus and X. raduloides were obtained from fungarium collections and GenBank repository. Two grouping criteria were used: (1) spec...