Citizen Science: How YOU Can Contribute To The Study And ......Step 7: Send to Fungarium How to Take...

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Citizen Science:How YOU Can

Contribute To The Study And Protection

Of Fungi

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What is Citizen Science?

Citizen science is the practice of public participation and

collaboration in scientific research to increase scientific knowledge

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▪ Current estimates suggest that the total number of fungi species is around 3.8 million. Less than 10% of those have been identified.₁

▪ Alabama ranks as one of the top US States in biodiversity.₂ Despite this fact, Alabama fungi are underrepresented in online databases.

▪ These two facts mean there is a very good chance you are finding fungi that have not been previously identified.

▪ The Global Red List, which lists threatened and endangered species, only includes 408 of the 3.8 mil total species, due to lack of data. For comparison, there are 1,756 protected species of the 43,557 total vascular plant species.₃

▪ Knowing which mushrooms are where and when is vitally important to being able to study and protect them. We can’t protect what we don’t know is here.

1 Willis, ed., State of the World’s Fungi, 9. 2 Bruce A. Stein. 2002. States of the Union: Ranking America’s Biodiversity. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. 3 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Accessed March 18,2021 www.iucnredlist.org

Why It Matters

http://www.iucnredlist.org/

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You Can Make a Difference▪ Mycological research tends to be underfunded, and do to budget

cuts, there are fewer professional mycologists to do this research than there used to be.

▪ It is citizen scientists like you who are helping gather the data for further study by professional mycologists.

▪ In 2020, a whole new species of mushroom was identified by photos shared on social media. It was named Troglomyces twitteri₆

▪ Chile is the only country in the world to consider fungi in its environmental impact reports ⁷ Collecting data is the first step to showing what is here that is worth protecting!

6 In Search of Mycotopia by Doug Bierend, referencing https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.67.51811 7 “The Urgency To Protect Fungi” by FFungi | Sep 16, 2020 | Mycology, Press https://ffungi.org/

https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.67.51811

https://ffungi.org/

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We will be running forays with the purpose of collecting, drying and sending specimens to be archived in the State Herbarium at Auburn University, where they will be available to be studied in the future by mycologists.

The Alabama Mushroom Society has been awarded a grant by the Fungal Diversity Survey that will cover the costs and materials to run DNA sequencing on select fungi specimens.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We will be running special forays where you can help us collect fungi and document the necessary information. We as a Board are only 4 people! We need your participation and dedication to taking down the proper information to be able to make this amazing contribution to mycology and the future of conservation.

WHAT We Will Be Doing

◤Contributing to our FunDiS Project

▪ Step 1: Record a HIGH QUALITY observation

▪ Step 2: Fill out a field data sheet

▪ Step 3: Collect specimen

▪ Step 4: Post observation to our FunDiS project on iNaturalist

▪ Step 5: Vouchering

▪ Step 6: Sequencing

▪ Step 7: Send to Fungarium

◤How to Take High Quality Photos

▪ Be sure your Location Permissions on your phone are turned ON to document WHERE you found it.

▪ Images need to be clear, well-lit, in focus, and the mushroom needs to be relatively large in the picture so its details can be seen clearly.

▪ Color and texture are best documented in natural light.

▪ No immature, old, or damaged specimens.

▪ Be sure you get a photo of each criteria. There should be a MINIMUM of 4 photos (#1-4 on the next slide, as #5-7 are not always warranted or possible) But it often takes several photos to get adequate lighting and focus.

#1: Photo of fungi showing it’s habitat. Note species of tree if growing on wood, or take an additional photo of leaves and bark to indicate ID if you don’t know.

#2: Close up of the cap.

Note how the fungi takes up the majority

of the photo!

#3: Dig it up. Side view including base. Do this AFTER filling in the iNat number on the field data sheet. Include your field data sheet in this photo to indicate size and for us to reference later.

#4: Close up of the spore bearing surface.

Photos That Are ALWAYS Necessary

#7 Multiple stages of growth of the mushroom. Best done all in one photo. Not possible if you do not have multiple stages of growth represented in the area you are collecting.

#5: Cross section, cut cleanly in half. More necessary with some fungi than others. This is obviously not possible with very small specimens and may not be advisable for very delicate specimens.

#6: Photo of any immediate color change and again after 5 minutes. Also photograph and note any latex or oozing. If there is no evidence of any bruising (Give it a good while before deciding this! Some mushrooms may take 10 minutes to show bruising!) a note on your field data sheet saying ‘none’ is sufficient. Same goes for oozing/latex.

Photos That Are Not Always Necessary/Possible



▪ Step 2: Fill out a field data sheet





▪ Step 7: Send to Fungariam

◤Fill Out a Field Data Sheet

We use field data sheets to:

• Associate photos with collected specimens, for identification and for adding description information to iNaturalist.

• Improve photo-documentation skills by providing an ever-present checklist in the field of what to pay attention to and photograph.

• Capture size information.• Associate photos with specimens after

drying for vouchering and sequencing.• Additional notes can be written on the

back. • We can ONLY voucher and sequence

specimens that have the proper information recorded. Much of this information is impossible to determine even a short time later. This is what makes your observations so important!



▪ Step 2: Fill out field data sheet






◤Collecting Specimens

▪ Dig the specimen up gently using a knife or trowel, make sure to get bulb/volva/root if present.

▪ GENTLY brush off any dirt or debris.

▪ Once you are finished taking all the photos you need, put each specimen (or several of the same species collected in the same spot) into a separate bag with the corresponding field data sheet in your basket.





▪ Step 4: Post observation to iNaturalist




◤ Online Databases▪ iNaturalist- a social network of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists built on

the concept of mapping and sharing observations of biodiversity across the globe.₄ Submit photos of what you find and others will help you identify them.

▪ FunDiS- Fungal Diversity Survey. Contributing your observations of fungi will add to a database that can be used by scientists and conservationists to better understand and protect fungi all across North America.₅

▪ Uploading your high-quality photos to iNaturalist will contribute to both databases in 1 step. Available as an app and on desktop.

4 "INaturalist." wikipedia.org Accessed March 18, 2021 5 fundis.org/observe Accessed March 18, 2021

◤ Join our FunDiS Project on iNaturalist

Only have to do once!

▪ Download the iNaturalist app on your smart phone

▪ Make a free account if you don’t already have one.

▪ Join our project titled “Fungi of Alabama FunDiS Project”

▪ Click the 3 bars in upper left corner, select ‘projects’

▪ Click the magnifying glass in top right corner to search

▪ Type ‘Fungi of Alabama FunDiS’ in search bar

▪ Click the project titled ‘Fungi of Alabama FunDiS Project

▪ Click ‘Join’

◤Posting Observations to iNaturalist

▪ Open iNaturalist app

▪ Select the green plus sign on bottom right

▪ Select ‘Choose Image’

▪ Select ‘What Did You See’

▪ If you don’t have any idea what it is, type in and select ‘Fungi’

▪ If you know what genus it belongs in, type in and select the genus.

▪ If you know think you know what species it is, type in and select the species.

▪ Under ‘Notes’ type in anything from your field data sheet that you wrote down. Such as, what kind of wood is it growing on? What was the habitat like? Was it one single specimen growing alone? Or were there several in the immediate area? What does it smell like? Was there any bruising or latex? Results of KOH or other chemical tests if done.

▪ Location should fill in automatically if you have your permissions turned on to allow location permissions. PLEASE be sure you have it set to do so.

▪ Click the green checkmark on the bottom of the screen when finished adding information

▪ Back on your main screen showing your observations, select the observation you just uploaded. Scroll to the bottom where it says ‘Metadata’ and you will find the ID number. Copy this ID number down onto the field data sheet for this specimen. *This is VERY important so we can find your photos and information for sending to the herbarium or for DNA sequencing.






▪ Step 5: Vouchering- We handle this part


◤ What is vouchering?

▪ Voucher: a representative sample of an organism that is deposited and stored at a facility, from which researchers may later obtain the specimen for examination and further study.

▪ After we have collected your specimens, we will sort through and have to discard any specimens that are too old or damaged to be used, or any that lack sufficient photos or information.

▪ We will then ID and dry the specimens in a food dehydrator set to 95°F for 24 to 48 hours until as dry as a potato chip.

▪ We then will select out any especially interesting or rare fungi that warrant DNA sequencing.

▪ We will bag up each specimen with the corresponding field data sheet and prepare them for shipping to the fungarium.







▪ Step 6: Sequencing- We do this part too.

◤ DNA Sequencing▪ We can only sequence DNA of specimens that have been properly documented. This is what

makes your job so important!

• FunDiS currently does not offer sequencing for hard Ascomycetes (“carbonaceous”, e.g., Hypoxylon and ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’) chanterelles (Cantharellus & Craterellus), lichens or slime molds

▪ Once we get samples home, we will disinfect our working area, tools and hands.

▪ We will then remove a section the size of a grain of rice from the inner part of the fungus and place it in a special tube.

▪ We label this tube with your iNaturalist number.

▪ We then export the information you submitted to iNaturalist and print it out to send with the tubes to the lab.

▪ We typically get results back from the lab in about 2 months from the date they received it.

▪ We will then update IDs on iNaturalist to reflect the results of the DNA sequencing.

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