The PI on this project will collect rust fungi in the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain in Brazil over a three-year period and prepare information-rich herbarium specimens, conduct training of graduate students in the taxonomy of rust fungi, and produce electronic databases for use in further research on Brazilian rust fungi. The fungi as a group are very poorly known, and among fungi, the rusts are even more neglected, even though they are responsible for serious diseases of economically important plants. The PI has over 30 years of experience with this group of organisms, and will use his expertise to collect more than 1800 new specimens of rust fungi that will be deposited at four major herbaria both in Brazil and in the U.S. These specimens will be an excellent resource for future workers, as will the electronic database that will also result from this study. The collecting areas have been selected within the Atlantic Rain Forest Domain, an endangered ecosystem type (less than 5-10% of the original extent of this biome exists today), which makes the documentation of fungal biodiversity that this project will produce urgently needed. -- aê ? ; ᪠ªá = ÓaOÀ h¢µ +'ª`0 ?  ª O 2 8 D P d l x ? Ñ ? áááááááááááááááááááááááá > Meredith's MacHD:Applications:Microsoft Word:Templates:Normal
