Maritime mushroom researchers partner with public in summer Mycoblitz

They can be round and white, and grow in circles in grassy fields. They can be purple or bright orange, and grow among moss and tree trunks. They can even sprout overnight, seemingly out of nowhere. 

These are just some of the reasons why researchers like Allison Walker are interested in documenting the diversity of mushrooms in the Maritimes — and are calling on the public to help them. 

Walker is part of a team of researchers who aim to sequence the DNA of 1,000 species of mushrooms in the Maritimes for Mycoblitz, a North American research project spanning Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick for the first time this summer. 

"There's a lot of research still to be done here," said Walker, a professor of biology at Acadia University who specializes in mycology, the study of fungi. "They're kind of the final frontier in biology because we know less about them in general than other things." 

Mycoblitz is a mushroom-focused version of a "bioblitz," which is an event where community members do an inventory of organisms in a geographic area. The mushroom blitz began earlier this year in partnership with several mycological organizations across North America, including the Indiana-based Hoosier Mushroom Society and the North American Mycological Association.

Most recently, the summer period of the blitz expanded to the Maritimes where mycologists are partnering with the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, the New Brunswick Museum and Nature PEI to collect mushrooms. 

Sean Haughian, the curator of botany at the Nova Scotia Museum, said researchers want to "involve as many people as possible" in the collection of mushrooms for Mycoblitz. Participants can use an app like iNaturalist to upload photos and note the location of mushrooms they find outside, then bring the mushrooms to one of the Mycoblitz partners for assessment. 

"There's a lot of cryptic diversity among fungi, things we can't identify just using a microscope or using our naked eyes," said Haughian. "So we need to do some DNA sequencing on these specimens to get a much better sense of the cryptic diversity that exists."

Haughian explained that although some fungi can visually appear to be a single species, their DNA could actually be distinct, often following different geographic locations. He added that North American species of mushrooms could also be distinct entities from mushrooms first observed in Europe. 

Walker described discovering new species of mushrooms as "very exciting" and said it's possible this summer's Mycoblitz could lead to finding even more. She estimated there could be up to 7,000 species of mushrooms in Canada, with 3,000 species in the Maritimes alone.

"You could actually have multiple species in an area without realizing it because they are genetically different," she said. "They can contain different toxins, different properties, and have different roles in the environment. So looking at the DNA helps us really confirm the identity." 

Rory Chongva, a fourth-year biology student at Mount Saint Vincent University, said they chose to participate in the blitz because of their love for exploring biodiversity, adding that fungi are "one of the least understood" parts of biology. 

"It's cool to go out and see what you end up seeing, because you're never quite sure what's going to be out there," they said. 

Chongva added that projects like Mycoblitz can make science more accessible to the greater community.

"I think seeing both scientists and just regular, everyday people getting involved with what is, at its core, a science project... it really makes me excited," they said. 

Those who are interested in participating in Mycoblitz can reach out to the Nova Scotia Mycological Society or visit the Museum of Natural History for more information. 

The next round of Mycoblitz will take place this October.