Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of three Pinus species on the California North Coast
 

This master's thesis project will inventory the different species of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi associated with three pine species occurring in coastal Humboldt County: Bishop pine, shore pine, and Monterey pine. Additionally, disjunct Bishop pine in Mendocino County will be sampled for associated ECM fungi. If successful, the project will reveal influences of host species and geographic distance on the community of ECM fungi present by documenting and analyzing variation in ECM fungal community composition among the three pine species and between disconnected populations of Bishop pine at its northern range limit. From an ecological perspective, this project may identify keystone fungal symbionts that have not been previously inventoried, and elucidate the flexibility of the ECM fungi that participate in symbiotic mutualisms. The study will address the following questions: (1) Do the associated ECM fungal assemblages differ between the three Pinus species in Humboldt county? (2) Is the ECM fungal assemblage associated with Humboldt Bishop pine similar to those of heterospecific co-occurring pine species? (3) Does the Humboldt Bishop pine ECM fungal assemblage differ from that of the disjunct Mendocino Bishop pine? (4) In Humboldt, will native Bishop and shore pine have a more similar ECM fungal assemblage relative to introduced Monterey pine? This talk will discuss the findings of the study so far, and provide background on the importance of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis in California forests. 
 

Monika grew up on the San Francisco Peninsula where she developed an appreciation and love for the ecosystems of the coastal regions of California. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has spent the last 7 years working for various government and nonprofit conservation organizations such as Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Mendocino Land Trust, and Feather River RCD. After years of being obsessed with identifying and looking for mushrooms, Monika decided to go for a master's degree at Cal Poly Humboldt to investigate the symbiotic mutualisms between fungi and plants found in the Yurok/ Wiyot territories of Northern California. She is excited to be studying something she finds so fascinating and is happy to be in the beautiful and wet Humboldt county. When not looking for mushrooms, Monika spends her time surfing, co-managing a compost company, and gardening. 
 

·  Meeting date and time: 7:30 pm PST, Tuesday, January 21st, 2025
·  Individuals may attend in-person, beginning at 6:30pm, for mushroom ID, refreshments and social interaction in the Buckley Room of the Randall Museum
·  Virtually: At 7:30pm,  Join the Zoom Meeting   Meeting ID: 891 8438 9640