On Tuesday, February 8th 2022, MSU hosted Justin Loucks of Colorado for a presentation on his macrofungi documentation and collection project in the Lemhi mountain range of Idaho. A recording of this talk can be found below.
Talk Description:
Efforts towards a North American funga, a comprehensive list of fungal species, require the systematic documentation of fungiin situ, preservation of specimens in official fungaria, and the generation of DNA sequence data. Such a species list will be essential to the future of fungal taxonomy, ecology, and conservation efforts across the continent. This presentation focuses on a project documenting the macrofungi of a remote area of the Rocky Mountains. We will discuss how mycodiversity is documented, the importance of exploring underdocumented habitats and regions, and the current application and limitations of DNA sequence data, as well as how anyone can contribute useful data towards this North American funga.
Bio: Justin Loucks is a hardcore fungiphile focused on Rocky Mountain macrofungi and their habitats. He has been involved with Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi and the Colorado Mycoflora Project since 2017, where he has gained extensive experience vouchering fungal specimens and generating DNA sequence data.
