Researchers invite the public to Mycoblitz, to find Maritimes mushrooms

The great mushroom race is taking place in the three maritime provinces. Mycoblitz—which all citizens, scientists or not, can participate in—aims to discover more about mushrooms in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Mycoblitz is a transcontinental North American project. It is a more targeted version of the so-called peoplitz.

A bioblitz is an exercise where participants explore nature to count and identify all living species they can find in a given area. The activity is performed over a short period, usually 24 to 48 hours.

This summer and fall, the bioblitz happening in the Maritimes focuses on mycology, the science of mycology.

final frontier

according to Allison WalkerProfessor of Biology at the University AcadiaIn Nova Scotia, there may be as many as 7,000 species of mushrooms in Canada, including 3,000 species in the Maritimes.

She is part of a team of researchers who want to sequenceDNA A species of mushroom in the Maritimes.

Allison Walker Describe fungi The final frontiers of biology.

We know little about them in generalas you say.

There is a great hidden diversity among fungi. Objects that cannot be identified with the naked eye or under a microscopehe explains Sean Hogyancurator of plants at the Museum of Nova Scotia, an entity of 28 museums in the province.

So it is necessary to do sequencingDNA From some of these samples to better understand the extent of hidden diversity that exists, He said. Some fungi may actually look like they belong to the same species, but they have DNA Featured.

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There could be several types of mushrooms in the same area without us even realizing it, because they are genetically differentsays the biologist Allison Walker. They may have different toxins, characteristics, and roles for their environment. they DNA It helps us confirm who they really are.

She says discovering new mushrooms is always exciting, and she believes the Mycoblitz event could lead to the identification of new species in the Maritimes.

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Everyone is welcome to participate in Mycoblitz. Rory Chungfa, who teaches biology at the university Mount Saint Vincentin Halifax, points out that this kind of activity makes science accessible to all.

Scientists as well as ordinary people are involved in what is, essentially, a science projectHe said. It’s very exciting.

People interested in participating in the upcoming Mycoblitz, scheduled for October, are invited to inform the Fungal Society of Nova Scotia or the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History of their interest.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Museum of New Brunswick, the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History and the nonprofit organization Nature PEI, formerly known as the Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island.

According to a report by Rhianna Lim, CBC