FUNGI IN AIR MASSES OVER MONTREAL DURING 1950 AND 1951

Abstract
Numbers and kinds of fungi were determined from nutrient plate and silicone slide studies from the roof of the Sun Life Building, Montreal, between September 1950 and December 1951. Exposures of plates were made in the General Electric Bacterial Air Sampler, and plates and silicone slides in the Bourdillon Slit Sampler. A total of 978 exposures was made on 113 sampling days during 16 months; 507 plates in the G. E. Sampler, 344 plates and 127 slides in the Slit Sampler. Of 40,359 colonies examined, Cladosporium, Penicillium, yeasts, Aspergillus, Alternaria, and Actinomycetes were commonest, constituting 47.7, 15.8, 10.4, 4.6, 4.2, and 2.2% of the total. The next commonest fungi were Pullularia, Oöspora, Fusarium, Stemphylium, Verticillium, Rhizopus, Spicaria, Scopulariopsis, Phoma, Mucor, Botrytis, Cephalosporium, Trichoderma, Helmin-thosporium, Neurospora, Papularia, Cephalothecium, Pyrenochaeta, Zythia, and Nigrospora. In addition 12 genera were infrequently found. Unidentified colonies numbered 174 and nonsporulating 3371 (8.3%). On a cubic foot basis numbers in the plates varied from 17.7 per cu. ft. in August to 0.4 per cu. ft in February.Fungus spores showed a seasonal variation with summer highs averaging 244 per cu. ft. in July to a low of 0.8 per cu. ft. in December. The most abundant spores were Cladosporium, yeasts, smuts, Fusarium, Alternaria, Venturia-like, Stemphylium, rusts, Septoria, and Helminthosporium. Hyphal fragments and pollen grains were present also. On eight occasions during the summer, readings of over 200 spores per cu. ft. were recorded, the maximum being 445 per cu. ft. on September 6, 1951. Cladosporium in August reached a peak of 74.1 per cu. ft. and yeast cells in July had an average concentration of 100 per cu. ft.An analysis of the air masses indicated that pure polar air carried low numbers of fungi, whereas tropical air had very high numbers. Most of the air masses were modified polar air and their fungus content varied considerably. The fungi in the air over Montreal are believed to have had their origin in agricultural areas.