DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Fungal endophytes and forest ecosystem function

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All leaves harbor diverse communities of fungi, both on their surface and within their tissues. The startling diversity of this group of microorganisms has just begun to be explored, and very little is yet known about their function in ecosystems. This project seeks to understand one possible role of these fungi: how they influence the process of decomposition. The general model of decomposition is that leaf litter is colonized and broken down by soil organisms after it reaches the ground. If some of the fungi inhabiting healthy, living leaves are latent decomposers, then they would have a head-start in breaking down litter compared to soil organisms, and their presence as the leaves senesce could even influence how decomposition proceeds. This project will test this hypothesis by using next-generation high throughput sequencing technologies, paired with biochemical and nutrient assays, to identify the fungi in a single, widely dispersed tree species (Metrosideros polymorpha), and trace these fungi through the process of decomposition in manipulative lab and field based experiments across an environmental matrix in Hawaii.The broader impacts of this study include the participation of high school students and undergraduates from both California and Hawaii. The results of this research have important implications for understanding nutrient cycling and microbial biodiversity in tropical ecosystems, and will be communicated through journal articles, conference presentations, and via ongoing interactions with conservation biologists and land managers in Hawaii.