The aerobiology of the dry air spora has been studied for many years. These spores tend to have peak concentrations during the mid-afternoon when wind speeds are highest and humidity lowest. By contrast, less is known about the aerobiology of ascospores and basidiospores. Ascospores are typically present in highest concentration during rainy periods, and basidiospores are known to occur in late night and pre-dawn periods when humidities are high. Although these factors correlate with the mechanisms of spore release in these two groups of fungi, few studies have examined the precise conditions that affect atmospheric prevalence. The current study was undertaken to determine the influence of meteorological conditions on airborne ascospore and basidiospore concentrations. The atmosphere in Tulsa and surrounding areas was monitored with Burkard Spore Traps. For different time periods and different taxa, average daily concentrations, hourly concentrations or two hourly concentrations were determined. Meteorological data were provided by the Oklahoma Mesonet and NOAA Local Climatological Data for Tulsa, Oklahoma. Atmospheric concentrations and meteorological data were analyzed using backward, stepwise multiple regression.
Total ascospore concentrations were positively related to temp, RH, and rainfall (R2 = 0.594). These same relationships held for Venturia (R2 = 0.283) and Didymella(R2 = 0.342). However, Leptosphaeria (R2 = 0.456) and other ascospores (R2 = 0.568) were only related to temp and RH. The relationship with temperature is likely describing the seasonality of these spores. Total basidiospores were positively related to temp and RH and negatively related to rainfall (R2 = 0.29). Individual basidiospore taxa showed different patterns of atmospheric prevalence during the period under study; however, temp and RH were positively related to the concentrations. This analysis provides the first step into elucidating the complex interactions between atmospheric spore concentration and weather parameters.