Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Biology

Supervisor

Thorn, R. Greg

2nd Supervisor

McMullin, R. Troy

Affiliation

Carleton University

3rd Supervisor

Henry, Hugh

Abstract

In Ontario, baseline knowledge of the diversity and biogeography of macrofungi is lacking compared to other taxonomic groups such as vascular plants and vertebrates. In 2023 and 2024, I completed an inventory of the macrofungi of three municipalities in Ontario’s Carolinian Zone using a combination of historical data, field surveys, and citizen science. Over 9,000 occurrence records of macrofungi were gathered from various sources, including over 1,000 specimens and photo vouchers collected through field work. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region – the molecular barcode for fungi – was generated for 164 specimens. A total of 1,040 taxa were identified, including six species not previously known from Canada, 36 species considered to be provincially, nationally, or globally threatened, and 136 regionally rare species. At least nine species are identified as restricted to the Carolinian Zone in Canada. The resulting annotated checklist is the first municipality-level inventory of macrofungi in Ontario.

Summary for Lay Audience

In this study, I documented the mushrooms and other large fungi in Brant County, Norfolk County, and Waterloo Region, Ontario. Checklists of plants, birds, and other organisms have existed for this area for over 75 years, but no one has listed fungi. Fungi are an important part of the ecosystem in this area, but we can’t identify fungi needing protection without knowing which fungi are present and where they grow. To make a checklist, I spent two years collecting and identifying fungi throughout the study area. I contacted museums and universities to gather fungus observations made by scientists since the 1800s. I also used the websites iNaturalist and Mushroom Observer to download thousands of observations made by other naturalists. I produced a list of 1,040 fungi in the area. Of these, six species had never been found before in Canada and 36 are threatened due to human impacts. This list is an important step in understanding how to protect fungi in Ontario.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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