Seasonality and management, not proximity to highway, affect species richness and community composition of epiphytic phylloplane fungi found on (wild and cultivated) Vaccinium spp.

The phylloplane is a cryptic environment that harbors a variety of pathogens and pathogen antagonists, and these populations are affected by many factors such as weather, season, plant location and leaf phenology. To address the hypothesis that pollution from a major highway would influence phylloplane communities, blueberry leaves were collected in Apr., Jun., Aug., and Oct. over 2 years from bushes in wild areas and cultivated farms along transects perpendicular to the Atlantic City Expressway. Community structure and species richness changed monthly, annually, and from site to site. Management practices in cultivated sites accounted for much of the variation in species richness and community composition among sites. Leaf age also influenced the community structure of phylloplane fungal communities. Leaves collected in Apr. had significantly lower species richness than those collected in later months (F = 19.37, P < 0.0001). Yearly differences in species richness and community structure were likely due to differences in meteorological variables.