Thursday, May 22nd, 7:30 pm
Many fungal taxa have evolved to fruit belowground (truffles) and require animals, particularly small mammals, to consume and disperse spores. This is a key mutualistic interaction where in exchange for providing spore dispersal, small mammals get an important food source. Focusing on communities from the Northeastern and Midwestern USA, this talk will discuss the factors that shape the interactions between truffles and small mammals, and the drivers of mammal-mediated fungal spore dispersal across spatial scales, including the role of predators as secondary dispersers.

Ryan Stephens is an assistant professor at East Tennessee State University in the Department of Biology. Ryan earned his PhD in Earth and Environmental Science at UNH in 2018. He studies how habitat associations, resource availability, and biotic interactions influence the dietary niche of mammals and their functional roles in forested systems as dispersers of mycorrhizal fungi.