Your path towards ecological understanding

Fungi Friday; the snake fungal disease Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola

July 13, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Sistrurus catenatus infected by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the culprit of the snake fungal disease (SFD). Allender et al. 2015. — *Sistrurus catenatus* infected by *Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola,* the culprit of the snake fungal disease (SFD). Allender et al. 2015.

A lesser known fungal parasite is well established in North America and recent surveys show its spreading. Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola causes snake fungal disease (SFD) and has serious potential to change the way ecosystems function. Many predatory snake species provide top down control in a variety of ecosystems in the United States and Europe, and ultimately permit more species diversity. This fungus shares many ecological similarities with other destructive general fungal parasites, so it is not to be taken lightly.

Island biogeography; speciation in an endangered Japanese Pine and a newly discovered mycorrhizal fungus

January 11, 2018 Philip Pinzone

Island distribution of Pinus amamiana. These endangered pines grow on Southern islands of the

 
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… — Island distribution of *Pinus amamiana*. These endangered pines grow on Southern islands of the Kagoshima Prefecture.

A newly described species of mycorrhizal fungi isolated from soils inhabited by endangered pines native to the islands of Southern Japan show the importance of taking a mycological approach in the field of conservation biology.