The Eastern United States is an area of exceptional biodiversity. But for fungi, a critical component of environmental health, this biodiversity is significantly underestimated for two reasons: 1) there is a significant but unknown level of hidden diversity underground and 2) traditional mycologists incorrectly used European names for North American species, assuming that fungal species were widely distributed. This study uses morphological examination, molecular data and mating studies to estimate levels of hidden diversity in agaric fungi and to evaluate the extent to which European and North American fungi are different species. The American study area focuses on one of the biodiversity hot spots in the United States, the southern Appalachian Mountains including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The European study areas focus on two essential locations for traditional European names.
The study will provide estimates of hidden diversity in the southern Appalachians and determine if molecular data and methods for estimating species boundaries can be effectively used to evaluate biodiversity in agaric fungi and accelerate taxonomic discovery. By further evaluating and documenting fungal biodiversity in the southern Appalachians, this project will contribute towards understanding the origins and maintenance of the exceptional biodiversity of the region and will contribute to the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Understanding patterns of biodiversity has become increasingly urgent with the onset of global climate change. Land use and conservation decisions rely on estimates of biodiversity and endemism which are tied to species names. If these are inaccurate, conservation decisions may fail to protect native biodiversity.
