| Abstract Detail
Fungal functional traits in a changing world Crowther, Thomas W. [1], Maynard, Daniel S. [1], Bradford, Mark A [1]. Thermal adaptation in fungi: Linking traits to biogeogoraphy. The complexity of fungal communities has obscured our search for neutral processes in fungal community ecology. Trait-based approaches provide a valuable set of tools for community and ecosystem ecologists, linking fundamental biological properties to organismal niche spaces. We explore the thermal niche spaces of 30 wood-rot fungi collected from across North America to identify links between individual traits and environmental conditions. The selected fungi included species that co-occur in south temperate and boreal ecosystems, to explore whether traits are associated more closely with species identify or environmental conditions. We reveal that thermal optima are similar cross most wood-rot fungi, but that niche breadth varies, depending on environmental conditions. The highly adaptive nature of fungi suggests that exploring fungal trait variation, rather than taxonomic differences, across environments can provide a more robust test of fungal niche processes, aiding in the search for unifying principles in fungal community ecology.
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1 - Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 370 Prospect St, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
Keywords:
Thermal adaptation
Realized niche
fungal ecology.
Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY1
Location: Auditorium/Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
Date: Monday, June 9th, 2014
Time: 3:30 PM
Number: SY1002
Abstract ID:45
Candidate for Awards:None |
