Christian Schwarz studied Ecology and Evolution at UC Santa Cruz, where his interest in the world of fungi became irrevocable – their seemingly endless forms (from the grotesque to the bizarre to the sublime) feed his curiosity.
Christian now teaches Natural History of Fungi and Community Science through the Norris Center at UCSC. He is co-author of Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast, and has served on the IUCN Red List Working Group for North American Fungi. He spends his time studying the ecology and natural history of California, Baja California, and Arizona. He is passionate about biodiversity in general, and especially the philosophy and practice of community science.
Mushroom Bioregions of The United States Biogeography is one of the most fascinating topics in all of natural history. The basic question is simple: Where do organisms live? But every subsequent question adds a new layer of complexity: Do they live there all the time? Why do they live there? Are there patterns that emerge when we look at groups of organisms? Are there strange discrepancies that don't fit the pattern? How small of an area can we map, and how finely? In this talk, we'll explore broad bioregions of the United States from the perspective of mushrooms (which sometimes align with bioregions of plants and animals... but not always!). From the chilly and damp temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest to the subtropical hardwood hammocks of Florida; from the arid interior deserts to the alpine crest of the Rocky Mountains, we'll take a tour of some of the country's distinct macrofungal communities and ask ourselves questions about time, space, and evolution.
Assembling Your Hyperlocal Mycoflora: A Step by Step Primer In the past decade, the cost of DNA sequencing has plummeted, and consequently accessible to virtually all amateur mushroom enthusiasts. Predictably, this has resulted in a flood of data to be made sense of — and the water is still rising! Combined with the simultaneous rise of iNaturalist as a platform for easily and dynamically keeping track of integrated biodiversity data, we're on the brink of an inflection point in knowledge about fungi in the United States. And lately, many mushroomers are feeling like they want something with deeper coverage than they can find in traditional field guides, but more structured and curated than can be found purely by browsing iNat. Enter the hyperlocal mycoflora. We'll talk about what these are, why I think they're the way of the future, and how to build your very own — from choosing a location, to vouchering, representation, and publication, we'll walk through the pitfalls and best practices to get you (as an individual or a club!) started on contributing to our understanding of the fungi around us.