Northern Beaches - Meeting & talk: Fungal species, their ecology and their interactions with plants

The speakers will be Vanessa McPherson and Michael Gillings from the School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University.

Fungi are extraordinarily diverse, having an estimated 2.2 to 3.8 million species, but only 170,000 species have been scientifically named. Estimates suggest that up to 75% of Australian species are yet to be described.

However, we do know that fungi provide essential ecosystem services. They break down wastes, cycle nutrients, and most importantly, form symbiotic relationships with plants. In this era of global change, we will need to manage and conserve plant communities. This will also require management and conservation of their fungal partners.

A first step to conserving fungi is to understand what species are there, and what they are doing. Here, we will take you on a tour of fungal diversity in the Sydney Basin, and outline what we are doing to document the identities and distributions of fungal species.

Contacts vanessa.mcpherson@mq.edu.au & michael.gillings@mq.edu.au

All welcome.

Enquiries to apsnorthernbeaches@gmail.com