Welcome to IMC 2018 International Mycological Congress
Conference Calendar
eDNA and DNA metabarcoding in fungal conservation
- G. Griffith
- A. Detheridge
Abstract
Abstract
The profile of fungal conservation in Europe has steadily increased over recent decades and by now several sites have legal protection based on the distinctive/rare macrofungal populations which inhabit them. Fungi inhabiting nutrient-poor grasslands, including waxcaps (Hygrophoraceae), fairy clubs (Clavariaceae), are particularly threatened due to habitat loss. For certain habitats in the UK, surveys of fungal diversity can be a requirement for EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) in planning applications or proposals for agricultural intensification. When such surveys are required, there can often be costly delays (until fruiting season), and the ephemeral nature of macrofungal fruiting can require several site visits. We have deployed a DNA metabarcoding approach for the assessment of grassland fungi. This work has involved the generation of additional rDNA barcode sequences from ‘local’ reference specimens. To date this approach has been used in the determination of planning applications, the notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and also in the prosecution of landowners who have undertaken unauthorised land improvement. By use of several well-studied sites where extensive fruitbody survey data exists, it has also been possible to ground-truth the data from NextGen Sequencing analyses. Our success in this venture has also been enhanced through a ‘Citizen Science’, involving amateur mycologists not only in the collection and verification of reference samples but also in the process of DNA barcoding.
Increasing success of pitch pine restoration in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve using suilloid fungi
- T. Patterson
- T. Horton
Abstract
Abstract
The goal of this research is to provide tools for restoring pitch pine stands at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP) using local ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF). Restoration efforts in the APBP focus on removing invasive black locust, reintroducing periodic fires, and reestablishing pitch pine. Restoration of pitch pine by forest managers has had varied success in different areas of the pine bush, but the factors affecting restoration failures are not clear. Soil fungi and their below-ground mycorrhizal interactions may be influencing restoration success. Most terrestrial plants depend in some way on mycorrhizal fungi for establishment, growth, and survival. Pitch pines and the invasive locust both require fungal partners, but the specific fungi they associate with are mutually exclusive. Research has shown that a lack of EMF compatible with pine can hinder their establishment, but that the presence of Suilloid fungi (EMF in the genera Suillus and Rhizopogon) is sufficient to enable invasion of pines into uncolonized areas. To investigate potential use of EMF to improve restoration at the APBP a factorial field experiment is underway. Pitch pine seedlings inoculated with either live or autoclaved Suilloid spore slurries were planted into sites either never invaded by black locust or that recently had black locust trees mechanically removed. After four months in the field a significantly greater proportion of seedlings treated with live spores (0.76, SE 0.06) have survived than those inoculated with autoclaved spores (0.48, SE 0.03; ANOVA p = 0.003, df = 1,8). No differences in survival were observed between the non-invaded sites and those with recent black locust removal (p = 0.425, df = 1,8) and no interaction between inoculation and site was found. Pitch pine seeds from the APBP were planted into live, dried soils collected from each site type in a laboratory soil bioassay to investigate the EMF inoculum present in soils of each site. Seedlings will be harvested and the fungi on the ectomycorrhizal root tips identified with molecular methods. The soil bioassay selects for resistant propagules, a trait of Suilloid fungi, which are expected to be present in soils from both site types. Roots of field seedlings will also be harvested to compare to those of the bioassay. Field seedling roots from the non-invaded pine stands are expected to have a greater diversity of EMF than bioassay seedlings grown in either soil and field seedlings from the black locust removal sites, indicating greater diversity of EMF in non-invaded sites and the potential for association through existing hyphal networks.
Protecting the invisible - identifying proxy indicators for landscape-scale arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal conservation
- B. Chaudhary
- G. Cuenca
- N. Johnson
Abstract
Abstract
Mycorrhizas are among the most common symbioses on Earth, impacting plant community structure and ecosystem functioning, yet little landscape-scale data linking arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal diversity to biotic and abiotic properties exist to inform conservation. Furthermore, practitioners rarely possess the resources or taxonomic expertise to characterize AM fungal diversity at large spatial scales, resulting in a lack of evidence-based conservation strategies. Recent work has called for symbioses among mycologists and conservationists to develop approaches for fungal conservation. We examined AM fungal diversity in tropical and temperate locations and identified potential drivers of species distributions and diversity for use as proxy indicators in biodiversity conservation. AM fungal communities were documented at 60 sites in the Colorado Plateau in southwestern United States and La Gran Sabana in southeastern Venezuela. Communities of plants and AM fungi and abiotic variables were measured along 50-m transects in three vegetation types (shrublands, forests, and traditional agricultural fields). Model selection and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate environmental predictors of AM fungal diversity and community structure. AM fungal species richness (α diversity) and community structure, but not among-site turnover (β diversity), differed between tropical and temperate locations; only 15% of taxa were present in both locations. In unmanaged sites, AM fungal richness was not correlated with plant richness, but instead predicted by soil pH and temperature (temperate) or precipitation and latitude (tropics). The structure of AM fungal communities was influenced by plant identity but not plant diversity in both locations. Traditional, sedentary Hopi agriculture influenced AM fungal communities on the Colorado Plateau, but Pemón shifting slash-and-burn agriculture did not alter AM fungal communities at La Gran Sabana. At both locations, AM fungal community structure was linked to soil texture and nitrogen. Our study demonstrates similarity between tropical and temperate regions in the biotic and abiotic drivers of landscape-scale AM fungal species distributions. Soil and climate as well as plant community types may serve as proxy indicators of AM fungal communities for use in conservation planning to preserve the ecosystem functions and services of mycorrhizas. As a result, conservation plans that incorporate gradients in pH, soil texture, climate and habitat heterogeneity may be more effective at preserving AM fungal diversity.
Reproductively contrasting lichen-fungi as an experimental model for conservation under climate change
- R. Yahr
- R. Belinchon
- S. Eaton
- C. Ellis
Abstract
Abstract
The climate change risk to biodiversity can be characterised by measuring both ‘exposure’ and ‘vulnerability’. Bioclimatic models are now widely used to quantify a species’ exposure, i.e. the extent to which suitable climate space might decline or shift under global change, for a given species and region. Vulnerability is less well explored, and, given a species exposure, it addresses coping mechanisms such as evolutionary adaptation, acclimation, or dispersal allowing migration in response to a shifting climate. This study takes two ecologically similar but reproductively-contrasting lichens – Nephroma laevigatum and N. parile – and examines key aspects of their climate vulnerability for a steep climatic gradient in Scotland (oceanic-to-continental climates). We show evidence of genetic structure related to climatic setting, consistent with local population adaptation, and pointing to gene flow as a consideration in management for climate change. We challenge a widely held assumption on species dispersal (distance determined by propagule size) that may be disrupted by at the establishment phase by facilitation effects and the role of photobiont sharing in the lichen symbiosis. We also ask whether the nature of the lichen symbiosis could allow acclimation to different climatic settings (spatial, or temporal under climate change), through photobiont selectivity and switching. We provide an overview of the lichen as a model for understanding how close species interactions can affect our understanding of climate change risk, and suggest future research directions.
Using Species Distribution Models to Inform Conservation Translocations
- J. Allen
Abstract
Abstract
Rates of environmental change can outpace the ability of species to migrate or adapt. When this happens it can lead to local extirpation, or even extinction in extreme cases. Conservation translocations, moving individuals of a species to bolster existing populations, reintroduce them, or establish populations in new areas, are important methods for rescuing species from extirpation or extinction. In this presentation I will discuss the utility of translocation for lichen conservation, with a particular emphasis on the role that species distribution modeling (SDM) can play in the process. I will present three case studies. The first study focuses on high-elevation endemics in the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. I used SDMs to predict how suitable habitat may shift for target species in the coming century. The results suggested that most of the distributions for all target species would be lost within their current ranges. I then set up a small transplant study to determine if it would be possible to consider conservation translocations as a method to rescue these species, again using SDMs to select suitable sites to establish the transplants. Unfortunately, most of the transplants failed due to the artificial substrate not withstanding climatic conditions in the study area. The second case study focused on whole coastal lichen communities threatened by sea-level rise. In this study SDMs were built for 193 species and used to determine where the greatest diversity and threats were concentrated in the region. This information was then used to guide the establishment of a whole-community lichen transplant on the edge of being lost to sea-level rise. The third case study is on a single species, Usnea angulata, which has been extirpated from the majority of its range in eastern North America. Transplants of over 50 individual thallus fragments were established at Highlands Biological Station to establish an ex situ source population that can be harvested sustainably to re-introduce the species throughout its historical range. The transplanted thallus fragments are growing quickly, averaging 2-3 cm of length increase every 6 months. Now that the ex situ source is established, SDMs will be used to select sites for reestablishing populations that are suitable now, and will continue to be suitable even as the climate changes in the coming century. All of these studies illustrate the utility of SDMs for conservation translocations, and provide examples to discuss decision making, risk assessment, and measurements of success in planning and executing conservation translocations.
Investigating the distribution and population sizes of the endemic macrolichen Cladonia submitis
- J. Hoffman
Abstract
Abstract
The considerable biodiversity of lichens, their ecological value, and their sensitivities to pollution and habitat degradation, are all well known and understood. However, little attention has been given to lichen conservation, and the vast majority of species remain poorly studied in terms of their population sizes, genetics or conservation management. To date, the IUCN red list only lists eight lichen species, only two of which are protected under the U.S. endangered species act (ESA). Many lichen species are data deficient, and cannot be properly assessed without further study. One such species, Cladonia submitis (or Beach Broccoli), was proposed for risk assessment by the IUCN. However, the eastern North American endemic macrolichen lacked population size data or up-to-date distribution information, with many historical sites not revisited in several decades. As a result, the assessment was tabled until such data could be obtained. I will present the results of population surveys for the rare species in the core of its range, the pine barren and sand dune habitats of New Jersey, Long Island (New York) and Cape Cod (Massachusetts). Revisiting sites of historical herbarium records and seeking out new, previously unidentified populations in other areas, a comprehensive view of C. submitis populations, and how they have changed over time, has facilitated an IUCN risk assessment of species.