Survey of Fungi in New York City

Survey of Fungi in New York City The Importance of Fungal Location Identification Emily Blumenthal December 7, 2018

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Survey of Fungi Growing in New York City The Importance of Fungal Location Identification Analysis of most observed fungal taxa in New York City, by the iNaturalist application.

Discussion of fungal location in forensic studies and paleontology.

Emily Blumenthal fungal taxa found in New York City, utilize this information in order to suggest aspects Walking down the streets of New York City, of ecology, and identify the practical it is difficult to sense the initial nature of the importance of fungal location identification. region. Iconic buildings have come to define

the area. This being said, upon closer Some Background Knowledge on Fungi inspection, I was shocked to see that besides the limited trees enclosed in the borders of Recommended Resource for Fungal our parks, there were many species, or taxa Identification: Link to Field Guide to rather, of another living organism growing Common Macrofungi in Eastern Forests and throughout New York. Yes, I’m speaking of Their Ecosystem Functions: fungal taxa. https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs79. pdf Fungal location has important applications such as the identification of original growth Hard to believe, but fungi are closely related when analyzing fungal spores in dust to animals. In fact, the two categories of particles for forensics and paleontology. A organisms have been grouped together as study was done where a database was “Opisthokonta”. They are tiny organisms created in order to connect genetic “bar that include yeast, mold, and mushrooms. codes” to an original location. This was only While generally too small to see, they have made possible by knowledge of fungal the ability to create fruiting bodies, or growth. Fungal location is also important in mushrooms rather, which are visible. its interaction with the ecosystem as it has been proven that fungal mycelium interacts While it is thought that there are over 1.5 with surrounding trees. million fungal species, only 5% of this value have been identified. They are identified by While there is modern usage of fungal taxa mycologists - mycology is the study of in order to identify origin locations of dust fungi. particles, practical in the application to forensics, and paleontology, the The main process of a mushroom is fungal identification relies on an extensive fungal spore dispersion. The top of the mushroom database. The idea of a database, which is the fruiting body (what we can see). The through studies of Grantham et al., began at stalk acts as support for the cap. Protective 40,000 fungal species found in all 50 states tissue for the gills while developing is called and the District of Columbia, engages the “ring”. The gills are underneath the cap. curiosity as to the diversity of fungal taxa in Gills hold the spores until they are ready for New York City alone. The goal of this dispersion. project was to collect data with regard to

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observers as possible. In the experiment referenced, volunteers from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, were given microbial home-sampling kits, and instructed to collect samples from the outside of an exterior door, specifying the upper door trim as being the prime location where human contact would be least likely.

Lichens are actually a symbiotic relationship, often taking place with fungi growing as an outside layer for algae. The fungi provide protection and structure, while the algae perform photosynthesis and therefore provide nourishment.

THE INITIAL EXPERIMENT Inspired by the study performed by Grantham et al., the goal was to collect as much data as possible from as many DATA According to the data found on iNaturalist, there were 1,615 identified fungal taxa observed in New York, New York as of November 30, 2018. The top 5 most observed fungi were Turkey-Tail, Chicken of the Woods, Common Greenshield Lichen, Dryad’s Saddle, and Candleflame Lichen.

In order for our project to receive as many observations as possible throughout the New York City region, the iNaturalist application was utilized. iNaturalist is a mobile application where observers may post images of natural observations to be identified. Through narrowing the search to fungal taxa (including lichens), and New York, New York, we were able to find a wide selection of data. Data was collected for 50 of the top most observed species in this specified area. We also further categorized these 50 species by order. For the top 5 most observed species, maps were analyzed in order to determine where these fungal taxa were actually growing. We then updated this data as frequently as possible, in order to obtain the latest results.

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*Of the 50 fungal taxa acquired, they were grouped further by order. 19 fungi observed are characterized as agaricales, 13 were polyporales, 5 were russulales, 2 were agaricomycetes, and 2 were boletales. The remaining 9 of the total 50 observed belonged to 9 different fungal taxa.

These were auriculariales, caliciales, candelariales, cantharellales, hymenochaetales, lecanoromycetes, phallales, tremellales, and xylariales.

*According to the corresponding maps, all of these species were most centrally observed in Central Park. Within Central Park, these fungal taxa were specifically in areas with trees, such as the North Woods.

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1. Scientifically known as, Trametes versicolor, Turkey-Tail is known in North American woods to be incredibly common.

They are most often found on dead logs, stumps, and conifer wood for decomposing purposes.

3. Flavoparmelia caperata or, Common Greenshield Lichen, grow mainly on deciduous trees. The color in the image portraying the lichen as being of a pale greenish-grey is only true when the lichen is dry.

When it is wet it becomes a yellowish-green color.

5. Scientifically known as, Candelaria Concolor, Candleflame Lichen grows on logs as well.

2. Chicken of the woods may be found in both living and dead trees. An interesting fact is that they caused damage to the British Naval Fleet’s wooden ships.

4. Dryad’s Saddle, also known as, Polyporus squamosus, is an edible mushroom that grows most often on logs.

IDENTIFICATION GUIDE:

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WHAT THE DATA SUGGESTS ABOUT THE REGION Before discussing the results, it is important to note that due to the nature of the iNaturalist application, the data is constantly being updated so the numbers collected are subject to change. This being said, in the time since our first collection of data to now, while the number of observations have changed, the ranking of our top 5 most observed have remained the same.

The fact that all 5 of these fungal taxa were most concentrated in Central Park, and can be found in the same areas of Central Park, specifically areas with trees, such as the North Woods, we can therefore assume a relationship between the fungal growth and plants.

TREES AND FUNGI In assuming the location-based relationship between the fungi observed and trees, we are referencing the mutually-beneficial symbiotic relationship which takes place by means of mycelium. Fungal-land plant relationships take place in which the mycelium (fungal threads) colonize the plant’s roots. This mutually beneficial relationship occurs in approximately 90% of land plants. In exchange for fungi aiding in obtaining water and nutrients for the plants, food is provided to the fungi. Mycelium also connects plants that are far apart to each other.

WHY IS FUNGAL LOCATION EVEN IMPORTANT? - POLLEN VS. FUNGAL IDENTIFICATION METHODS When dealing with identification, one of the modern methods is the use of pollen grains found in dust samples. Pollen type is specific to plant species, and therefore the

Blumenthal 7 ratio of species in a particular region can provide a fixed pollen print. This being said, there are potential problems with this representation of an area. One of the problems posed with this method is the fact that whatever sample being analyzed needs to contain enough pollen grains to accurately identify the location that the dust particle came from. Additionally, the database of pollen type requires a particular expertise necessary to identify, and continually, we see that the results found by this method is not statistically based, but rather an expert’s opinion.

Just as pollen grains showcased a representation of their original environment, fungal spores also act as a proxy. There is more diversity in fungi than in plant species, with more potential for fungal spore growth under conditions that provide limited resources. Also, they have restrictive capabilities in terms of prospective distribution, making fungal spores a better option for identification than pollen grains.

Fungal spores have the ability to both designate the plants growing in a particular area, as well as the plants that have grown in the area previously, died, and decomposed.

The Grantham et al. study (2016) concluded that there was a found ability to sequence through, polymerase chain reaction (targets and replicates certain DNA sequences), and barcode the rRNA operon that works to identify the fungal communities’ initial location. Through their project a database of barcodes was being formed, with an initial 38,473 fungal taxa included.

FUNGI FOR THE WIN – but are mycologists required?

Fungal spores have the potential to last in rocks and sediments for millions of years, as well as in soil for decades, which makes it

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ideal for utilization in forensic studies, and paleontology.

There is research being done at the Burke Museum, where there are attempts at creating an online database. The idea is that someone who is not an expert in the field can access this online database, which will be available to the public, and therefore a mycologist will not be necessary in identification.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? With the latest studies regarding fungal location, diversity is essential regarding the potential applications. While New York City is a seemingly industrialized area, we have found through our own database that there are over 1600 species, and the number is growing every day. Additionally, we have expressed what fungal location relative to tree location suggests about the ecosystem.

Who knows, with all of the potential fungal applications, maybe mycologists will be a more in-demand profession!

WORKS CITED 1.

Burke Museum. 2015. “Barcoding fungi: A new era in mycology” https://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/barcodingfungi-new-era-mycology.

2.

Central Oregon Mushroom Club. Accessed December 07, 2018. http://www.mushroomsinbend.org/?p=1743.

3.

"Common Greenshield Lichen - Flavoparmelia Caperata." Chironomus Plumosus | NatureSpot. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-greenshield-lichen.

4.

"Cornell Mushroom Blog." The World in Your Oyster :Cornell Mushroom Blog. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2006/10/31/eating-the-chicken-of-the-woods/.

5.

"Digging Out Mushroom Knowledge." The Odyssey Online. November 12, 2017. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/digging-out-mushroom-knowledge.

6.

Fleming, Nic. "Earth - Plants Talk to Each Other Using an Internet of Fungus." BBC News. November 11, 2014.

Accessed December 07, 2018. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141111-plants-have-a-hidden-internet.

7.

"Fungi." Basic Biology. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://basicbiology.net/micro/microorganisms/fungi.

8.

Grantham, Neal S., Brian J Reich, Krishna Pacifici, Eric B. Laber, Holly L. Menninger, Jessica B. Henley, Albert Barberán, Johnathan W. Leff, Noah Fierer, Robert R Dunn. 2015 “Fungi Identify the Geographic Origin of Dust Samples”Plos One 10 (4): https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122605

9.

"LICHENS - North American Mycological Association." NAMA. Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.namyco.org/lichens.php.

10. MushroomExpert.Com. Calvatia Gigantea (MushroomExpert.Com). Accessed December 07, 2018. https://www.mushroomexpert.com/trametes_versicolor.html.

11. Ostry, Michael E., Neil A. Anderson, and Jospeh G.Obrien. “Field Guide to common Macrofungi in Eastern Forests and Their Ecosystem Functions.” 2011. Doi:10.2737/nrs-gtr-79.

12. "The Oft-Overlooked Dryad's Saddle." The Mushroom Forager. Accessed December 07, 2018. http://themushroomforager.com/2011/05/12/the-oft-overlooked-dryads-saddle/.

13. Wiltshire, Patricia E.J. 2016 “Mycology in palaeoecology and forensic science” Fungal Biology 120 (11): 1272-1290. https://www-sciencedirect-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S1878614616300812#bib14 *All fungal pictures from iNaturalist

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ACROSS 5 Fungal ________ have the potential to last in rocks and sediments for millions of years.

7 Application used to collect data.

9 Largest group categorized by order from our data.

10 Method used to sequence and barcode the rRNA operon for fungal location identification purposes.

DOWN 1 Caused damage to the British Naval Fleet's wooden ships.

2 What was originally used for forensic purposes.

3 Mycelium connect fungi to _______.

4 Fungal Threads 6 Relationship between fungi and plants.

8 #1 most observed fungal taxa in New York City. *DO NOT INCLUDE SPACES BETWEEN WORDS. ONLY ONE ANSWER CONTAINS A HYPHEN

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KEY