Evolutionary ecology of
epifoliar and endophytic fungi
Epifoliar fungi are fungal "epiphytes" that live obligately on the surfaces of plant leaves without causing disease. Some tap into the host for direct nutrition, others rely on exudates, debris, or honeydew from piercing-and-sucking insects. They are very common and diverse in moist tropical areas, but are found worldwide. Because they are intimately and obligately associated with living plants but have apparently negligible effects on them, they offer unique opportunities for asking questions about the relative importance of host specificity and environmental conditions on the distribution of plant-associated fungi in natural ecosystem. Collaborators Don Reynolds (Los Angeles Museum of Natural History), Ariadna Bethancourt (University of Panama) and I have been looking at various aspects of their diversity, distribution, and ecology in rainforests in Panama and Australia.

Endophytic fungi - species that live inside plant tissue without cause obvious symptoms - are ubiquitous and highly diverse. We are just beginning to appreciate the ecological importance of these symbionts, but we know they include latent pathogens and sit-and-wait decomposers, as well as potential mutualists. I am particularly interested in understanding how plant traits and environmental conditions govern their distributions.

Related publications