INFLUENCE OF METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS ON THE AIR SPORA

An aerobiological study to determine the spectrum of air spora and to identify the potential aero-allergens in Auckland, New Zealand was undertaken at three different locations spanning an area of 30 km, encompassing agricultural, horticultural and forested environments within the region. Burkard volumetric 7-day recording spore traps were operated at each of three locations for 12 months period. In two locations, basidiospores (damp-spora) dominated the overall concentration of airborne species followed by ''dry-spora'' at the third location. The fourteen most frequent categories of fungal air spora were selected to study the influences of meteorological factors. Hourly meteorological and spore data were computed and the -Spearman Rank'' correlation coefficient method was used to analyse for relationships. The results showed significant negative correlations between wind speed and basidiospores of Ganoderma, and with the coloured ''basidiospores group''. Significant positive correlations were found between mean, maximum and midnight temperatures, and basidiospores of Ganoderma, Coprinus, Hypholoma, ''coloured'' and ''hyaline'' basidiospores as well as with conidia of Cladosporium and Polythrincium. The strongest correlations were demonstrated by Cladosporium conidia and Coprinus basidiospores. Relative humidity and rainfall showed significant correlations with ascospores, while Leptosphaeria ascospores showed significant strong correlations with rainfall on the day of sampling. ''Aspergillus-Penicillium'' type did not show any significant correlation with any of the meteorological factors.