Tuesday, August 7, 2007: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
Blrm Salon IV, San Jose Marriott
OOS 11 - Illuminating the black box: Examining the mycorrhizal symbiosis and its effect on plant and fungal community dynamics
The study of mycorrhizal fungi and their effects on plant community dynamics has largely developed outside of mainstream ecological literature. Despite growing interest its ecological consequences, this symbiosis is still largely a black box for most ecologists. However, recent methodological improvements such as widespread use of DNA-based molecular identification techniques, isotopic tracers of physiological processes, and a growing ability to culture and manipulate mycorrhizal fungi and their hosts in both field and laboratory, have begun to provide some illumination. The goal of this session is to highlight this rapidly growing body of work for ecologists who do not study mycorrhizal fungi and explore how this symbiosis can be better integrated into the general science of ecology. Speakers will address such topics as how different fungal-plant pairings affect ecological interactions with other symbionts, how symbiont diversity affects plant and fungal assemblage structure, and the role of the symbiosis in ecosystem-scale processes such as succession, nutrient cycling, and restoration.
Organizer:	Peter Kennedy, Unversity of California, Berkeley
Co-organizer:	Karen Hughes, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Moderator:	Karen Hughes, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
8:00 AM	OOS 11-1		Are symbionts facilitating edaphic adaptation? Arbuscular mycorrhizal assemblages associated with serpentine and non-serpentine ecotypes of Collinsia sparsiflora Shannon Peters Schechter, University of California, Berkeley
8:20 AM	OOS 11-2		Shifts in mycorrhizal fungal communities due to plant competition, parasitism and herbivory: Consequences for fungi and host plants Catherine Gehring, Northern Arizona University, Rebecca Mueller, University of Oregon, Kristin Haskins, The Arboretum at Flagstaff, Christopher Sthultz, Northern Arizona University, Thomas Whitham, Northern Arizona University
8:40 AM	OOS 11-3		Disruption of a belowground mutualism alters plant-pollinator interactions James F. Cahill Jr., University of Alberta, Glen R. Smith, University of Alberta, Bryon H. Shore, University of Alberta, Elizabeth Elle, Simon Fraser University
9:00 AM	OOS 11-4		Patterns and mechanisms of competition among ectomycorrhizal fungi in early successional settings Peter G. Kennedy, University of California, Berkeley
9:20 AM	OOS 11-5		Mycorrhizal dominance of the boreal forest soil community D. Lee Taylor, Institute of Arctic Biology, Ian C. Herriott, Institute of Arctic Biology, Roger W. Ruess, Institute of Arctic Biology
9:40 AM			Break
9:50 AM	OOS 11-6		Complex belowground spatial patterns: Ectomycorrhizal diversity and function in a California oak woodland Caroline S. Bledsoe, University of California Davis, Melissa H Morris, University of California Davis, Matt Smith, University of California Davis, Victora M Albarracin, University of California Davis, Rasha T. Aldamrat, University of California Davis, Xinhua He, University of Tokyo
10:10 AM	OOS 11-7		Do mycorrhizal fungal community shifts affect forest nutrient cycling? Jeri L. Parrent, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
10:30 AM	OOS 11-8		Using biological market models to understand mycorrhizal fungal commnity dynamics Miroslav Kummel, Colorado College

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See more of The ESA/SER Joint Meeting (August 5 -- August 10, 2007)