Your path towards ecological understanding

Hydnora africana: The real life “Piranha Plant” and Queen of Species Interactions

June 3, 2020 Courtney Parrilla

Hydnora africana and the notorious Piranha plant. — *Hydnora africana* and the notorious Piranha plant.

Contrary to the fantasy world of videogames, some of these in-game species have real-life doppelgangers. Given the millions of years of fine-tuned species adaptations, these doppelgangers happen to be even cooler than their digital counterparts. Find out more about the parasitic Hydnora africana by reading this article written by my former student Courtney Parrilla!

Marine and terrestrial fungal species overlap

March 14, 2018 Philip Pinzone

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  … — The submarine Pices V and a scuba diver using several combinations of mixed gas. Wainwright et al. 2017.

This new research not only reveals the first documented evidence of algal-fugal associations in deep coral ecosystems, but shows that the some of the same species found here live in terrestrial habitats too.

Willow interactions explain plant distributions in Alpine ecosystems.

November 28, 2017 Philip Pinzone

One of the main alpine willow species found in CO, Salix glauca. — One of the main alpine willow species found in CO, *Salix glauca*.

These series of experiment that took two years to carry out paint a more descriptive picture of what we see in alpine ecosystems. Compared to aboveground interactions, underground interactions have a stronger influence on species distributions in alpine habitats. Once again, we see how strong a force competition is.

Geographic origin of dust samples identified using fungi-a new method

September 21, 2017 Philip Pinzone

Pollen; the main material used in the study of palynology.

A new method using fungi may help paint a more detailed picture of our past.

Plant kin recognition and mycorrhizae

September 7, 2017 Philip Pinzone

Stained AMF structures. Procedures I carried out throughout my masters thesis.

New research shows that some plants can recognize if their neighbor is closely related. Because of kin recognition in young plants of common ragweed, closely related neighbors do better by investing more in mycorrhizae. Although mycorrhizae didn't nutritionally benefit these plants, their fungal mutualist offered another type of fitness enhancing reward.