Author: fungalecology
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Windsor Great Park 2022
Issy Kite Last week, our team had the amazing opportunity to visit Windsor Great Park and see their amazing collection of ancient and veteran trees and collect some samples! The number of ancient trees was incredible to witness and we saw many signs of wood decay fungi on the oaks. Rich showed all of us…
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Happy International Women’s day!
Happy International Women’s Day to all you incredible scientists out there! We here in the mycology group are proud of all the incredible women who are and have been a part of this fantastic team! A special shout out of course goes to Professor Lynne Boddy, a truly inspiring woman in STEM. We hope you…
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2022 Update
The lab here at Cardiff have been busy working away on a number of projects surrounding the fungal communities that exist within oak trees in the UK (primarily Quercus robur). Our current PhD student Rich Wright has been exploring this topic in great detail alongside a team of undergraduate students, via slice experiments and core…
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Beech heart rot research: autumn update
We are now well into mushroom season. These, and other fungal fruiting structures, are often described as like apples on a tree. This analogy is due to the fact that mushrooms bear the reproductive propagules that are subsequently dispersed through the local environment and sometimes farther afield. But unlike apples, mushrooms do not contain seed.…
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Research Trip – Washington, USA
Jade O’Leary Wood decay is brought about by a community of fungi which interact antagonistically with each other, causing the community composition to change. My PhD project explores the interactions of fungi when they are in competition for a wood resource, and the implications of those interactions to wood decay. In March 2016, I travelled…
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Genomics of Energy and the Environment: Conference Report
Jade O’Leary I am writing this blog shortly after the closing of the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) Genomics of Energy and the Environment Meeting in the beautiful Walnut Creek, California. I have to say that I thought the conference was brilliant, showcasing the range of technologies available at the JGI and the projects that it…
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Fungus Wars
– Lynne Boddy Fungi rarely live alone, so they frequently encounter other fungi, bacteria and invertebrates, and sometimes vertebrates too. Like animals, fungi can distinguish self from non-self. When one mycelium (the main body of the fungus, comprising a network of fine filaments, termed hyphae) meets another, chemical recognition shows whether it is a different…
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Ecology of Soil Micro-organisms: Conference Report
Jade O’Leary During the first week of December four of the Cardiff Fungal Ecology group ventured to Prague, Czech Republic, to attend the second “Ecology of Soil Microorganisms” conference. The meeting set out to address questions regarding individual microbes, and microbial communities as well as their interactions with the environment and other soil biota by…
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Arctic Mycology Training
Marta Misiak Where is the best place to study Arctic Mycology? The high Arctic is the answer! Last month one of the members of the Fungal Ecology group (Marta) attended a month long course on Arctic Mycology at University of Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Norway at 78°N. It is the world’s northernmost institution for higher education…
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Conference Report: The Invasive Fungus
Emma Gilmartin Last week members of the Fungal Ecology group attended ‘The Invasive Fungus’ focused meeting organised by the Society for General Microbiology and the British Mycological Society. Held in Manchester, the meeting aimed to bring together fungal researchers at the level of the hypha. Sessions over three days covered the broad topics of hyphal…
Fungal Ecology at Cardiff 