Print PageStriking changes in plant and animal phenology have been observed over the past century (i.e. phenological events such as bud burst, insect emergence, or bird migrations). However, very little is known about whether (and how) the phenology of fungi has also been changing over time and in response to climatic variation. In addition to better understanding the basic biology of fungi, quantifying changes in phenology is important in order to anticipate how species and ecosystems are likely to respond to ongoing climate change. Here, our goal was to compile and analyze a unique dataset of mushroom phenology across North America to test the overall hypotheses that dates on which fungi fruit have been shifting over time, and that responses to climate help to explain variation in fruiting dates. In addition to testing whether fruiting dates are related to seasonal temperature and precipitation trends, as most phenology studies do, we have also developed models to estimate the importance of recent weather events for triggering fruiting. We address these questions using data on fruiting dates for several hundred species of fungi, compiled in collaboration with curators from eight prominent herbaria across North America.
Results/Conclusions
We have found that some Fall-fruiting fungi are fruiting later over time, consistent with a previous study from Europe. However, these relationships vary among taxa and geographically. The fruiting dates of many species are also correlated with summer temperature and precipitation in some states, but this pattern is again variable. Finally, we found a strong effect of precipitation events on the timing of fruiting. This result fits with natural history intuition about fungi but represents the first time it has been quantified across this taxonomic and geographic breadth. These results have important implications for understanding how species and ecosystems may continue to change given ongoing climate change.
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