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Systematics And Diversification Patterns Of Morphologically And Ecologically Diverse Lineages Of Agaricomycetes: Clavariaceae And Cantharellales, Joshua Mark Birkebak

Doctoral Dissertations

The recent advent of molecular tools and methods to understand the diversity of living organisms allows for exploration of former untestable theories concerning the diversity of fungi. Here we assess the morphologically based classification of the family Clavariaceae in light of molecular phylogenetic reconstruction and propose a revised classification base on natural assemblages. We used stable isotope ratios to uncover a biotrophic nutritional mode for much of the family, which had not been well understood historically. We also investigate several enigmatic lineages of agaricoid or cantharelloid fruiting body producing fungi within a clade of otherwise clavarioid fruiting bodies. We provide …