RICHNESS, CELLULOLYTIC ACTIVITY, AND FUNGICIDE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF FUNGI FROM A BIRD BIOLOGICAL COLLECTION

Biological collections in natural history museums serve important purposes to the scientific community and the general public, however, their value and utility might be diminished by biodeterioration. We studied a biological collection that represents more than sixty years of avifauna sampling of Colombia, the country with the highest bird diversity. An initial inspection of the collection showed that the general appearance of some specimens was compromised by mold-like growth on their surfaces. We aimed at (i) identifying the taxonomic affiliation of these fungi, (ii) evaluating their cellulolytic activity, and (iii) probing chemical agents that could be utilized to control their growth. The most common fungi genera were Aspergillus, Penicillium, Chaetomium, and Trichophyton, most of which can degrade cellulose. Zinc chloride and salicylic acid showed to be effective fungicides. Based on this, we propose some actions to control the fungi-pest in this biological collection of birds.