XVI International Botanical Congess
Fungal endophytes, asymptomatic fungi within aerial plant tissues, are ubiquitous, but in tropical forests are little-known. I surveyed endophytes in 3 distantly-related tree species co-occurring in 3 microsites at BCI (Panamá). These hosts bear rich assemblages of endophytes in individual leaves, trees, and microsites. Patterns of abundance and richness appear independent of leaf chemistry, development, and toughness, host taxon, and microsite, but not of leaf age. Most endophytes are generalists, but may have structured populations with regard to microsite. Estimates of fungal biodiversity may be more accurate if based on extrapolations from microsite data, rather than from host records.