[Plsfaculty] Reminder: Griffin Davis MS Thesis Defense, 29 July, 2 PM Marley 230

[Romens, David - (dromens)]

Reminder for Griffin Davis' MS defense. You may also join remotely at: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/84345425517.
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From: Mark A Beilstein <mbeilstein at arizona.edu<mailto:mbeilstein at arizona.edu>>
Date: Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Subject: Griffin Davis MS Thesis Defense, 29 July, 2 PM Marley 230
To: <plsgs at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:plsgs at list.cals.arizona.edu>>, <plsfaculty at list.cals.arizona.edu<mailto:plsfaculty at list.cals.arizona.edu>>

Please join us on Tuesday, July 29th in Marley 230 when Griffin Davis will defend her MS thesis entitled "BIODIVERSITY AND ANTHROPOGENIC CHANGE IN FUNGAL COMMUNITIES OF THE SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS (ARIZONA, USA)"

Abstract:
Macrofungi – the subset of fungi distinguished by having macroscopic sporocarps – play diverse ecological roles in wild ecosystems, including substrate decomposition, enhancement of soil fertility, and facilitation of rhizosphere dynamics as root symbionts. Recent observations facilitated by current sequencing methods reveal that some macrofungi occur in an endophytic phase within plant tissues. Thus, to characterize macrofungal diversity it is beneficial to combine traditional methods such as collections of sporocarps and reviews of fungal herbarium specimens with evaluation of plant tissues for evidence of endophytic macrofungi. We characterized macrofungal diversity in a biodiversity hotspot in southern Arizona: the Santa Rita Mountains and the adjacent grasslands and oak woodlands of the Santa Rita Experimental Range. The goal of my work was to provide a first inventory of macrofungi in the Santa Rita region, synthesizing data streams that include over 1000 community science records collected via iNaturalist, a historic collection of herbarium specimens collected over the last century from the area, current field inventories, and sequencing of endophytes from plants to understand the contributions of endophytes to macrofungal biodiversity in this area. Records of sporocarp collection from over a century, coupled with new collections, iNaturalist observations, and molecular analyses of endophyte communities, revealed more than 300 species of macrofungi for the Santa Rita Mountains and Santa Rita Experimental Range. New collections for the 2024 monsoon season coupled with iNaturalist records added over 40 species to the known records (>10%). We detected macrofungi as cryptic endophytes in both burned and unburned grasslands, oak woodlands and conifer forests, but the contribution to the macrofungal inventory of the region was limited relative to the inputs of community scientists/observers and Herbarium collections. Together these data show the importance of community scientists and observers, natural history collections, and new collections in detecting and characterizing macrofungal biodiversity.
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Mark Beilstein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Bart Cardon Fellow
School of Plant Sciences
P.O. Box 210036
Forbes Building, Room 303
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
mab-lab.org<http://mab-lab.org/>
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