The Fungal Kingdom

Fungi play fundamental roles in terrestrial ecosystems as recyclers of organic matter that provide nutrients to most life forms and as partners with plants and to form mycorrhizae and lichens. Humans use fungi in many ways: food (mushrooms, high-fructose corn syrup, yeasts, protein), medicine (mushrooms, antibiotics), and a wide variety of miscellaneous uses (acid-washed jeans, biocontrol, building materials). The importance of fungi for humans and the ecosystems they inhabit is indisputable. This two-quarter, upper-division program will focus on understanding these unique and pivotal organisms.  During fall quarter, our program time will consist primarily of fieldwork and labs where students will learn to collect, describe and identify fruiting mushrooms and lichens using dichotomous keys, chemical characteristics and microscopic techniques. We will learn about fungal natural history in the field, as well as field-based methods for assessing biodiversity of lichens and fruiting mushrooms.

Fall quarter lectures and workshops will cover biology, evolution, systematics and physiology of fungi and lichens. Seminar will focus on exploring the scientific literature and developing technical writing skills. Students will research topics in the primary scientific literature and summarize and share their findings with the entire class. There will be multiple one-day field trips and a multi-day field trip. In winter quarter, our focus will shift more indoors to laboratory work with micro-fungi, DNA sequencing and culturing techniques. Lectures and workshops in winter quarter will explore the many ecological roles that fungi play: as mutualists to plants and animals, nutrient cyclers, disease-causing agents, and indicators of environmental quality. Students will have opportunities for independent directed work, both individually and in small groups. Students will also have the chance to further their skills in technical writing, library research, critical thinking, and public presentations.

Anticipated credit equivalencies:

Fall quarter:

*4 - Fungal Biology

*2 - Lichen Biology

*4 - Fungal Taxonomy

*4 - Lichen Taxonomy

*2 - Research Seminar in Mycology

Winter quarter:

*4 - Fungal ecology

*4 - Lichen ecology

*2 - Fungal taxonomy

*2 - Lichen taxonomy

*4 - Independent Project in (topic)

*upper division science credit possible

If you are a student with a disability and would like to request accommodations, please contact the faculty or the office of Access Services (Library Bldg. Rm. 2153, PH: (360) 867-6348; TTY (360) 867-6834) prior to the start of the quarter. If you require accessible transportation for field trips, please contact the faculty well in advance of the field trip dates to allow time to arrange this.