The proposed research has three major objectives: (1) To investigate the ecology of myxomycetes (Plasmodial slime molds) associated with forest floor litter in temperate forest ecosystem. (2) To increase our knowledge of the relative importance and exact role of myxomycetes as memebers of the detritus food chain. (3) To assess the ecological significance of their interactions with other organisms in terrestrial ecosystems. Emphasis on the proposed research in on analyzing (using the techniques of multivariate analysis) patterns of species composition and species diversity of myxomycetes in the litter microhabitat. The proposed research, which is designed to include a number of undergraduate biology majors at the P.I.'s home institution as active participants, will provide important new information about a critical but poorly known component of many forest ecosystem, and yield baseline data from which further studies of myxomycete ecology can be launched.
