Pleurotus citrinopileatus, courtesy of A. Khitsun.
revolution, long slumbering forests of carbon were resurrected from the ancient Earth and pressed into service in the furnaces of modernity. We know that this artificial fire can’t go on forever without immiserating our world. At 416 parts per million, carbon dioxide is already higher than it has been in millions of years and is perhaps rising even faster than in these greatest calamities of all time.” A warming climate will doubtless be
disastrous to many organisms. But for some, it’s a boon. If you drive through the Rocky Mountain region, you cannot help but notice huge areas of dead and dying conifers. Tis is the result of huge outbreaks of a pine beetle that’s been killing the trees. Te beetle is not some new invader—it’s a native. But it was never much of a threat; forest die-offs weren’t normally severe, as beetles likely were kept in check by harsh winters. With the climate warming, and milder winters, the beetle numbers have exploded and they’re overwhelming the forests. Many invasive species seem to be benefitting from climate change as well. A study published in a recent edition of the journal Ecology by Penn State scientists Joseph Keller and
Katriona Shea found that many invasive species of plants do better in a warming environment. Tey point out that while “numerous studies have documented changes in the seasonal timing of organisms’ growth and reproduction in response to climate warming” and “these changes correlate with documented changes in species’ abundance,” no one has really pinpointed the mechanisms linking these two trends. Teir research shows some invasive species are able to complete their life cycles and reproduce at younger ages—that is, with warmer temperatures their life cycle is speeding up. With species that reproduce only once, “this represents a major acceleration of the life cycle.” Tey further found that “rising temperatures accelerate some invasive species’ population growth by increasing the average size of reproducing individuals; increasing the proportion of individuals that survive to reproduce; and increasing the fraction that reproduce.” On the topic of invasive species, most
people probably don’t think about fungi. Larger and more visible organisms typically make the headlines: murder hornets on the West Coast, Asian carp in the Midwest, gypsy moths on
the East Coast … and even hippos in South America (I’m not making this one up!). But it’s likely that most of our problematic invasive species are fungi— most of them small plant pathogens that threaten our economically important food and fiber crops, our forests, and even horticultural plants and shade trees. Recently (February 2021), the newly-
elected British Mycological Society President, Janet Quinn, addressed the BMS about “killer fungi” and potential solutions, saying that: “We share our planet with millions of different types of fungi, which perform numerous functions that make our planet habitable. However, there is a dark side to this Fungal Kingdom. New fungi are emerging that are wiping out susceptible amphibians and bats, and others are having a devastating effect on crops thus threatening world food security. Tis is caused both by the accidental spread of hardy fungal spores into new places due to the globalization of trade, and the disruption of natural environments which creates breeding grounds for new fungi to evolve. As humans, we are also at increasing risk from killer fungi—over 1.5 million people are killed every year Continues on page 38.
Fall 2021 FUNGI Volume 14:4 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
