Proportion of sexual species in the mycobiota of different Israeli regions. 1, ECI (Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel); 2, ECII; 3, central coastal plain; 4, northern Negev Desert; 5, Dead Sea area; 6, DSTS (hypersaline mud); 7, DSW (hypersaline water). In DSW, the y axis represents the percent of sexual species from a total of 70 species identified. Sites 4–6 are characterized by increasing stress intensity, followed by increasing proportion of sexual reproduction and a sharp decline in sea water (site 7).