As Fungi Play Important Roles in Ecosystem Processes as Decomposers

Multiple Choice

As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline) . Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ; one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected:
Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n.d.) . Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186.
-Usable (liquid) water sources in the maritime Antarctic are directly related to air temperatures: the warmer the temperature, the more water becomes available for use by plants, fungi, and other living species. How would you predict this phenomenon would influence fungal biodiversity?

A) Increased usable water sources would drown fungal and plant species.
B) Increased usable water sources would freeze the soil and kill fungal communities.
C) Increased usable water sources would promote increased means for fungi to grow and disperse.
D) Increased usable water sources would promote lower metabolic activity in the fungal species.