Macrofungal Ecology Project

Biologists have long recognized that macrofungi - those that produce visible fruitbodies - are an extremely diverse and ecologically important group. Some macro-fungi form ectomycorrhizal mutualisms with trees and shrubs, others are plant parasites, while others are vital wood decomposers or soil-building saprophytes. While these fungi are critical to maintaining the structure of ecosystems, the ecology of macrofungi remains under-studied.

Details of the distribution patterns and community structures of macrofungi are relatively unknown. For example, it is generally accepted that many ectomycor-rhizal and parasitic macrofungi form symbioses with limited sets of hosts.

Furthermore, many non-ectomycorrhizal macrofungi (ie. wood-decay species and leaf decomposers) exhibit strong habitat preferences apparently related to domi-nant vegetation. Since macrofungi are certainly geo-graphically limited by environmental factors, it is likely that their distributions are shaped by environmental fac-tors on smaller scales within their habitat.

Both availability of suitable hosts and environmental conditions can limit and influence the distribution of macrofungi, but because many macrofungi are nutri-tionally dependent on plant hosts, I expect that the availability of suitable host plants will be the most important driver of macrofungal distribution. Through precise, detailed spatial monitoring, I will test the hypothesis that variation in the composition of plant communities will explain more variation in associated communities of macrofungi than will variation in envi-ronmental conditions. This investigation will provide foundational information to construct more realistic concepts of the community structure and spatial ecology of macrofungi.