Data from: Myxomycete biodiversity on remote islands of the eastern Indian Ocean: A comparison between the Cocos (Keeling) and Christmas Islands

Myxomycetes are a widespread group of organisms, but given their
inconspicuousness and the specialist knowledge needed to culture and
identify them, there are many regions of the world where they have never
been studied. The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian Territory in the
Indian Ocean, are one such location. We collected substrates from islands
in the Cocos archipelago, and cultured 37 morphospecies of myxomycete
representing 15 genera. Five substrate types were sampled; the greatest
species richness was associated with aerial litter, aerial twigs, and
ground litter. Eight habitat types were sampled, of which the coconut
forest had the greatest species richness. The main (southern) atoll of the
Cocos group is dominated by (largely) anthropogenic coconut (Cocos
nucifera) forest. Here, there was no relationship between myxomycete
community structure and habitat, but substrate type significantly
influenced community structure. In contrast, on the northern atoll of Pulu
Keeling, which retains a more natural vegetation structure, including
large stands of Pisonia grandis forest absent from the southern
atoll, there was a strong relationship between the myxomycete community
and habitat type but not substrate. We also compared myxomycete diversity
from the Cocos Islands with diversity from a similar study of myxomycete
morphospecies recorded from Christmas Island. Although 1000 km apart,
these are the closest terrestrial habitats in a vast expanse of the
eastern Indian Ocean. These islands had very different myxomycete
communities and shared relatively few species in common, likely a result
of their very different histories, geographies, and contrasting habitat
types and substrates available to myxomycetes.