As part of the MST's membership in the Myco-Consortium series of Zoom talks, MST members are invited to join the presentation on Thursday, March 30th at 7pm ET:
Unveiling the Enigmatic Beauty of Cortinarius
A talk by Shannon Adams Thursday March 30th, 7pm ET
Do you love learning about mushrooms but have heard 'Cortinarius' are too hard? It doesn't have to be that way! Shannon is here to spread her love of the Cortinariaceae and to give you resources to help you get to know the species in your area. She will give us an update on Cortinarius taxonomy (including new genera that have been proposed), pointers on distinctive sub-genera and resources that will empower you to learn more. During the talk you will get to know some of our Cortinarius 'celebrities' and have new resources to work with when you find these diverse and beautiful species in your backyard.
About Shannon Adams
Shannon Adams is a User Researcher in the tech industry who has a passion for the genus Cortinarius. When she emigrated from Australia 20+ years ago she was struck by the diversity and beauty of Cortinarius species she saw in the Washington Cascades, and started trying (and failing) to identify them. For the past 6 years she has been collecting and documenting species in the region and has over 1,000 Cortinarius collections in her personal herbarium. In 2021 she led publication of a new Cortinarius species - Cortinarius rufosanguineus, has three other species in the publication pipeline and is currently collaborating with researchers on red-gilled Dermocybe.
Shannon Nix's presentation The Great Escape is now available to MST members to watch on the meetings video page.
The spore dispersal strategies employed by mushroom-forming fungi are as diverse as the myriad types of fruiting bodies produced by these organisms. Join us as Dr. Shannon Nix discusses a few of these strategies, as well as some of the adaptations that fungi have evolved to ensure that their genes are successfully dispersed into the environment.
Dr. Shannon Nix is a fungal ecologist who received her B.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Prior to becoming a tenured professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Shannon studied the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on fungal communities as a Fulbright Fellow at the Agricultural University of Norway and as a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Georgia Experiment Station. During her career as a professor at Clarion and George Mason universities, she taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in mycology, botany, microbiology and environmental science. Now retired from higher education, Shannon regularly gives invited talks and workshops for local and regional mushroom clubs and pursues research with local collaborators and academic colleagues. Shannon is passionate about education and raising awareness of the role that fungi play in the environment and our lives.
As part of the MST's membership in the Myco-Consortium series of Zoom talks, MST members are invited to join the presentation on Thursday, March 16th at 7pm ET:
Decay of the Wood Wide Web
A talk by Justine Karst Thursday March 16th, 7pm ET
The 'wood-wide web' has captured the interest of broad audiences. Common mycorrhizal networks, namely fungi that physically link roots of different trees together, are purported to be widespread and mediate transfer of resources and signals from trees to seedlings in forests. In this talk, I challenge popular claims about the function of common mycorrhizal networks in forests and highlight the misinformation that has developed in recent years.
About Justine Karst
Justine Karst grew up in western Canada and was curious about forests from childhood on. From that curiosity, she completed a PhD in mycorrhizal ecology and, in 2016, joined the faculty at the University of Alberta, where she is Associate Professor. For the past 20 years, she has studied the mycorrhizal ecology of forests with a preference for the boreal region. She is currently Vice President of the International Mycorrhiza Society.
Please join us on Zoom on Wednesday, March 8th at 7:30pm for our online Speaker Series.
The Great Escape
The spore dispersal strategies employed by mushroom-forming fungi are as diverse as the myriad types of fruiting bodies produced by these organisms. Join us as Dr. Shannon Nix discusses a few of these strategies, as well as some of the adaptations that fungi have evolved to ensure that their genes are successfully dispersed into the environment.
Dr. Shannon Nix is a fungal ecologist who received her B.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Prior to becoming a tenured professor at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Shannon studied the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on fungal communities as a Fulbright Fellow at the Agricultural University of Norway and as a Post Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Georgia Experiment Station. During her career as a professor at Clarion and George Mason universities, she taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses in mycology, botany, microbiology and environmental science. Now retired from higher education, Shannon regularly gives invited talks and workshops for local and regional mushroom clubs and pursues research with local collaborators and academic colleagues. Shannon is passionate about education and raising awareness of the role that fungi play in the environment and our lives.
