Methods
Summary
Our survey methods will generally follow the "CIS" (Controlled Intuitive Survey)/Relevé protocol for search and documentation of total fungal biodiversity.
A general description of the protocol can be found here:
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHan...
We will also be drawing from the ATBI Protocols developed for fungi, and follow many of the specific steps developed and documented by FUNDIS (the Fungal Diversity Survey).
https://www.fundis.org/our-res...
Specimens will be tissue sampled for DNA barcoding using nanopore sequencing, and all vouchers will be deposited at appropriate museums including CSU East Bay, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and UC Santa Cruz.
Challenges
All mycofloristic efforts face challenges related to the unpredictability of fungal fruiting: Not every season is equally productive, and even during good seasons, fruitbodies are ephemeral — meaning that frequent, repeated survey efforts are especially necessary to achieve adequate coverage.
Our funding goal to subsidize ferry costs will help to directly address these challenges by reducing the financial barrier for volunteer surveyors to join us on our survey trips, maximizing our coverage efficiency despite punctuated visit schedules.
Pre Analysis Plan
Because the bulk of this project is descriptive/documentary it will not rely heavily on hypothesis-based interpretation. However, our synthesis and interpretation of the distribution and habitat association of fungi on the Channel Islands will strive to add new perspectives to the existing body of theory of fungal island biogeography.
Our pre-analysis will involve in-depth review of the sparse existing body of literature on fungal biogeography, as well as a review of the botanical literature on functional trait divergence with regard to insular evolution. We expect spore size and morphology characters to be the primary axis of expression for functional trait divergence of island populations from mainland populations of fungal species.
Protocols
Browse the protocols that are part of the experimental methods.
