Pioneering conservation strategies for rare fungi parasitic on wood decay fungi

About the Project

Fungi underpin the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Like other organisms many fungal species are facing challenges that threaten their existence. Fungal conservation biology lags far behind that of plants and animals, and is hampered by a lack of basic, specific ecological knowledge on most threatened taxa. This project focusses on the mycoparasites Hypocreopsis rhododendri (Near Threatened) and H. lichenoides (Endangered). The former parasitises Hydnopria corrugata which is common on stems of hazel trees, and the latter parasitises Hydnoporia tabacina which grows on willow branches. We have fundamental information on the community ecology of H. corrugata in temperate woodlands, but not yet in temperate rainforest where its parasite is slightly more common. Little at is known of the ecology of H. tabacina. We will study the host fungi and the unique requirements of these two rare parasites of tree decay fungi, and translate this into effective restoration strategies.

Our objectives are to:

• Understand host and habitat requirements of these charismatic fungal mycoparasites as a prerequisite to effective translocation
• Develop molecular methods to detect these two species
• Develop culture methods and create culture collections of these two species for ex situ conservation
• Develop, evaluate and trial translocation strategies for these two species.

This project will employ our well-established approaches for studying fungal communities in wood, and fungal ecophysiology. We will use a combination of fieldwork, lab culturing, DNA analysis, bioinformatics, and statistics.

This studentship forms evidence-based fungal conservation as part of the Species Recovery Programme. The successful candidate will be based in Cardiff University’s Fungal Ecology Research Group, and will work as part of a team of researchers delivering different aspects of the SRP project. They will also benefit from regular input by project partner Dr Matt Wainhouse of Natural England.