Eight graduate students from Turabo University, under the guidance of Professor Sharon Cantrell-Rodriguez, an expert in Mycology and Professor in Turabo’s School of Natural Science and Technology, identified a total of 103 species of fungi in the Pterocarpus Forest in Palmas del Mar, Humacao, as part of a three-month study.
Graduate students conducted 6 fungi collection campaigns during the months of September, October, and November 2015, photographically documenting their findings and listing the characteristics of each of the specimens.
Subsequently, their microscopic characteristics were observed, and, through the use of taxonomic keys, each species was identified.
This discovery is remarkable in view of the fact that the Pterocarpus Forest is considered a freshwater swamp, yet it has accumulated large amounts of plant material in the water and in the roots of trees, thus causing the growth of multiple and diverse communities of fungi. At the same time, this research becomes one of the first accomplishments resulting from a collaborative agreement with Turabo University’s main campus at Gurabo.
The goal of the agreement is to integrate the university community into Palmas’ efforts to preserve the Forest, making it available as an educational resource and laboratory for scientific research.
Images of Fungus
