Ecology of Fungi

Catalog description

This course emphasizes the important and varied roles of the higher fleshy fungi in natural and managed systems, focusing on forest habitats. Fungi are the ecological backbone of many terrestrial systems, yet their ecological roles as saprophytes, symbionts, and mycorrhizal mutualists are often minimized . Both traditional techniques and more recent molecular methods will be presented at the individual, population, community, landscape, and biome levels, along with topics on fungal conservation and global change. This course consists of twice weekly sessions of two hours each for lecture, discussions, and demonstrations. One or two afternoon or morning field trips to nearby forests are required to initiate a final project .