U.S.-Thailand Planning Visit: Assemblages of Myxomycetes and Fungi Associated with a Number of Aerial Microhabitats in the Tropical Forests of Thailand

0701464stephenson该奖项支持阿肯色大学的Steven Stephenson教授与泰国蘑菇研究基金会的Kevin Hyde博士和泰国清迈大学的Saisamorn Lumyong教授的计划访问。这次访问将有助于开展一项详细的国际合作研究，研究与泰国北部热带森林几种不同类型的空中微生境有关的黏菌和真菌组合。热带森林被认为是真菌生物多样性最高的陆地生态系统，但这种生物多样性的主要部分尚未被记录下来。东南亚的热带森林尤其如此。热带森林群落固有的组成和结构复杂性表现在各种各样的空中微生境上，其中大多数在北方森林或温带森林中都没有相应的微生境。拟议项目中将要进行的研究将是第一次努力，以确定这些森林中与空中微生境有关的生物组合的特征。阿肯色大学、泰国蘑菇研究基金会和清迈大学的研究人员之间有足够的兴趣重叠，这表明他们可以成功地开展所提议的活动，而且这种互动将使双方受益。预计该研究项目将有助于更全面地了解世界这一区域热带森林生态系统的总体生物多样性。此外，两位美国研究生的参与将使这些早期职业研究人员获得宝贵的国际视野和洞察力。他们的泰国同行很可能会学习新技术，并获得正在研究的生物和微生境方面的基本专门知识。美国研究人员计划在阿肯色州科学院和美国真菌学学会的年会上进行口头和海报展示。研究生将被要求开发一个网站，提供与他们在泰国的研究经历有关的信息和图像。此外，由于计划访问而产生的数据（例如，黏菌和真菌的物种清单）将在Eumycetozoan PBI/PEET网站（http://slimemold.uark.edu）上向公众和科学界提供。

0701464StephensonThis award supports a planning visit to enable Professor Steven Stephenson at the University of Arkansas to meet with Dr. Kevin Hyde at the Mushroom Research Foundation in Thailand and Professor Saisamorn Lumyong at Chiang Mai University, also in Thailand. The visit will help develop a detailed international collaborative research study of assemblages of myxomycetes and fungi associated with several different types of aerial microhabitats in the tropical forests of northern Thailand.Tropical forests are thought to be the terrestrial ecosystems characterized by the highest fungal biodiversity, but a major portion of this biodiversity has yet to be documented. This is particularly true for the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. The inherent compositional and structural complexity of tropical forest communities is manifested in a diverse array of aerial microhabitats, most of which have no counterparts in either boreal forests or temperate forests. The research to be carried out in the proposed project would represent the first effort to characterize the assemblages of organisms associated with aerial microhabitats in these forests. There is sufficient overlap of interests between researchers at the University of Arkansas and the Thailand Mushroom Research foundation and Chiang Mai University to indicate that they can successfully pursue the activities proposed, and that the interaction will benefit both sides. It is anticipated that the research project would contribute to a more complete understanding of the overall biodiversity of tropical forest ecosystems in this region of the world. In addition, the proposed involvement of two US graduate students will enable these early-career researchers to gain valuable international perspective and insight. It is likely that their Thailand counterparts would learn new techniques and acquire basic expertise in both the organisms and the microhabitats being studied. The U.S. researchers plan to make both oral and poster presentations at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Academy of Science and the Mycological Society of America. The graduate students would be expected to develop a web site providing information and images related to their research experience in Thailand. In addition, the data (e.g., species lists of myxomycetes and fungi) generated as a result of the planning visit would be made available to the public and the scientific community on the Eumycetozoan PBI/PEET web site (http://slimemold.uark.edu).