Relating the biogeography of mycorrhizal fungi to host distributions, habitat and community assembly processes in Hawaii

The mycorrhizal symbiosis among plants and root inhabiting fungi is globally ubiquitous, involves a diversity of fungi and the majority of land plants, and is critical for terrestrial ecosystem function. Yet while we know a great deal about the diversity and distributions of the plants that host mycorrhizal fungi, much less is known about the biogeography of these important fungal symbionts. The focus of this talk is to examine the biogeography of mycorrhizal fungi at three ecological scales: populations, communities and the globe. Using the Hawaiian Islands as a backdrop for these studies, I argue that not only are islands excellent model systems for examining fungal biogeography, but that we should reconsider how biomes across the globe are defined and incorporate belowground microbial symbionts into these descriptions.

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Invited by Gerhard Gebauer, Isotope Biogeochemistry, as UBT International Research Fellow

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