Ms Ema Corro1, Mr Melvin Xu1, Dr Emily McIntyre1
1Mycommunity Applied Mycology, , Australia
Biography:
Ema Corro is a founding member and coordinator of Mycommunity Applied Mycology. Her main area of interest is fungal ecology and how it relates to land management and has contributed to the Fungi for Land project. She recently finished her Master of Environmental Science and Management at UNE looking at using fungivorous animal scats to promote mycorrhizal fungi and plant-health in revegetation areas. She is coordinator of the Wild Fungi DNA project which aims to involve citizen-scientists using molecular methods to study fungi.
Abstract:
Scaling eDNA depends on people with the questions, the sites and the will to keep monitoring; volunteer organisations often have all three. Mycommunity Applied Mycology is a Victorian citizen mycology organisation with a volunteer run molecular lab. We work on the principle that citizen scientists can contribute at every stage. Many volunteers want exactly that: hands on involvement in experimental design, sample collection, lab work and analysis, rather than collecting data for others to interpret.
In Wombat State Forest, an ongoing volunteer study of fungal responses to 2021 windstorm damage spans 12 plots at three disturbance levels, with ectomycorrhizal abundance and diversity declining as saprotrophs increased. With the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, we are metabarcoding six plots along a disturbance gradient volunteers have monitored for twelve years, a program initiated and led by a citizen mycologist. In a Moorabool Landcare Network initiative, we inoculated nursery plants with mycophagous animal scats to reintroduce beneficial microbes, improving plant health, with growth increasing by around 30%; metabarcoding of scats and roots identified the responsible microbes. Other projects include post-fire monitoring in the Strathbogie Ranges, invasive and threatened species monitoring, and restoration work with various Landcare organisations.
Volunteer organisations hold long term monitoring sites, local knowledge and their own research questions. Many are eager to apply eDNA but lack a pathway. They also outlast the typical funding cycle, enabling long term research. Given the opportunity, these organisations will not just contribute to eDNA research but lead it, producing meaningful science for years to come.