November 9, 2023
Bitty Roy to present Division of Biology Seminar
Submitted by Division of Biology
Bitty Roy, professor emeritus at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Oregon, will present "Consequences of Fire for Macrofungi in Prairies" as part of the Division of Biology Seminar Series at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, via Zoom.
Roy's presentation abstract: It has long been appreciated that remnant Pacific Northwest prairies contain a large number of now rare plant species, but it is not known if there are also prairie-associated mushrooms with species of conservation interest. We used a combination of transects along a burn chronosequence — unburned since 1850, burned in 2012, 2014, or 2015 — and walking surveys of prairies to begin to determine which macrofungi are associated with Pacific Northwest prairies and how management affects them. We show that diverse fungi live in Pacific Northwest prairies, including rare ones, and that management practices influence aboveground fruiting and belowground community composition. More recently we have been working on similar questions in the warm season C4 dominated grass prairies of Kansas which we will briefly contrast and compare with the cool season C3 Pacific Northwest prairies.
If you would like to visit with Roy, please contact Ari Jumpponen at ari@k-state.edu. Further information regarding Roy's work can be found on her website.