Mycoblitz Europe Fall 2023's Journal

Hi everyone,

I resumed my work on the Mycoblitz. I'm currently creating a spreadsheet with all the samples I received as of today. You can look at it on the following link:
Spreadsheet

See you soon!

Some of you have been wondering what was happening to your packages. Some of them are stil unopened yet (I already filled all the boxes I prepared!) and some of them are waiting for further processing. I will send them all at once to avoid doing all the customs paperwork multiple times. I haven't reached to everyone personally but I believe all packages arrived safely to me.

On the personal side, this period is quite busy for me and I've been sick multiple times in the last weeks... But I will work on it as soon as it's finished! I still have to extract a sample from the specimen and repackage all of them, it will take a ton of work.

See you soon for further news!

Hello everyone!

Are you wondering why you still haven't received my notification to tell you that your package arrived?
The reason is simple: there are too many of them! I received a ton of package and it takes some times to open them all, find an easily readable label and send the notification. So, please wait for a little longer!

Here's the amount of packages I received as of today:

Unfortunately, some of them where in a fairly bad shape. I received some packages that where completely wet, broken or with all mushrooms contained in them that were rotten...

But I want to finish on a good note! I'm grateful to everybody for the success of this event! I received many kind letters and even some goodies! Thank you so much!!

Best regards and see you later for some news,
Nicolas

Here are a few suggestions of groups to target to send for sequencing.

Fungi

Agaricus
Amanita and Limacella s.l.
Boletaceae (especially Xerocomellus and Caloboletus)
Clavariaceae
Clitocybe s.l.
Coprinus
Cortinarius
Dermoloma and Porpoloma s.l.
Entoloma
Galerina
Hebeloma
Hygrocybe s.l.
Hygrophoropsis
Inocybaceae
Laccaria
Lactarius subgen. Russularia
Lyophyllum
Lepiota s.l.
Lycoperdon
Melanoleuca
Mycena s.l. and Hemimycena s.l.
Pluteus and Volvariella
Psathyrellaceae
Ramaria s.l.
Russula

Myxomycetes

Cribraria
Lindbladia
Lycogala
Reticularia
Tubifera

This year, we are partnering with the Ohio Mushroom DNA Lab to sequence the most European specimens possible. If you have trouble identifying a mushroom or you want a confirmation for your identification, those are especially interesting for us. However, common or easy to identify species are also needed and welcome!

How do I have my specimens sequenced?

In the field

1. Join the project "Mycoblitz Europe" on iNaturalist (process here).
2. Take pictures of the mushroom you find in the wild (if you forgot that part, you can still photograph it later).
3. Collect the mushroom trying not to damage it.
4. Secure the specimen in a container separate from the other mushrooms.

At home

1. Organize and dry the specimens in a dehydrator. A common way to organize them is to add labels on the samples. The specimen should be completely dry at the end. The mushroom shouldn't be dried too hot or too long to avoid damaging the DNA it contains. To avoid losing small specimens in a dehydrator, you can place them on bottle caps or a similar object. Small taxa (Mycena, Arrhenia, Inocybe, etc.) can be dried by placing them in a hot and dry well-ventilated place but this should be done only if it's not possible with a dehydrator.
2. Upload the observation to iNaturalist. If this step is missing, the observation won't be counted in the Mycoblitz Fall Europe 2023 project and won't be sequenced.
3. Label the specimen with the iNaturalist number and place it into a ziplock bag. You can write on the bag using a permanent marker or place a small paper sheet inside. The only information required is the iNaturalist unique observation number (more on that below).
4. At the end of the event, package all your specimens and send it by mail to the address below. For UK residents, the shipping will be handled by MycoPunks group and will cover all the costs for international shipping. Don't forget to add your iNaturalist username so we can contact you when the package arrives!
5. The sequences obtained will be then added to your iNaturalist observations! Make sure you allow other people to add observation fields so you can receive the sequence.

Mail address

For everyone

For UK residents

Obtaining the iNaturalist number

On Desktop

On Android

On iPhone

You must open the link in a browser window and look at the last digits of the URL.

FAQ

Which collections will be sequenced?

Every collection included in the Mycoblitz Europe Fall 2023 can be sequenced. This means that you can send the collections made during all the running time of the event from October 19th, 2023 to October 29th, 2023. Pathogenic fungi can be troublesome to work with as US customs don't allow it. You can send it anyways, we will try to find a way to sequence them as well at a later date.

Where will my specimens go?

A small fragment of the specimens will be sent for sequencing. The rest will be kept in the private herbarium of Nicolas Schwab until we find an institutional herbarium accepting them. If you want to keep some of the specimens for later studies, please do it before sending it.

What will happen to my sequences?

The sequences will be added to the observation fields of your mushroom observation. This data is public as we plan on doing a citizen science project.

Can I send my previous collections or ones made after the event?

No, unfortunately it's not possible. The sequencing program is only for the event. But please keep them anyways, it's a very important resource to study! Future sequencing programs could handle the sequencing of them.

Contact

If you run into any problems, please contact the staff (@nschwab).

Further reading

The tutorial from the Ohio Mushroom DNA Lab
Harries D. 2017. DNA and the field mycologist: part 1. Field Mycology 18(1): 20-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fldmyc.2017.01.006
Harries D. 2017. DNA and the field mycologist: part 2. Field Mycology 18(3): 92-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fldmyc.2017.07.008
FunDis. Collect & Document. https://fundis.org/sequence/collect-dry/collect-document

Do you enjoy observing the nature around you? Would you like to contribute to science during your excursions? We invite you to join us for this event!
The event is more enjoyable with other people. Don't be afraid to share this with other people and create observation groups with naturalists from your region!
This is the Fall 2023 edition of the Mycoblitz Europe event. The previous events held were the very successful Mycoblitz Europe Fall 2022 and Mycoblitz Europe Spring 2023.

NEW THIS YEAR
You can sequence your specimens for free with the Mycoblitz Europe Sequencing Program!

What is a bioblitz?

A bioblitz is an inventory of the biodiversity in a given place and during a given period of time, carried out by a group of volunteers. During a bioblitz, species are identified and listed.

Participate

This bioblitz is for everyone, beginners as well as experienced mycologists. Just create an account on iNaturalist and join the Mycoblitz Europe Fall 2023 project. On your smartphone, you can install the iNaturalist application available on Android and iOS to be able to photograph and observe species directly in the field. Observations that match the criteria will be automatically added to the project. Please note that they must be at least roughly identified before they can be detected by the algorithm.

Rules

Eligible taxa must be fungi (including lichens), oomycetes or myxomycetes.
The bioblitz runs from October 19, 2023 to October 29, 2023 (Central European Summer Time). Results will be announced once the data have been processed.
Only one observation should be created per collection. A collection may consist of multiple specimens.
Observations must include at least one photograph. It is advisable to photograph the fungus from several angles to allow for later identification and validation of the data.
The observations must come from Europe and Macaronesia.

Observation advice

It is advised to all members to try to create one or more observations before the beginning of the event. The staff will be available to assist you but it is possible that it is overloaded during the observation period.
You are encouraged to help each others during the identification process.
The photographs must allow a correct identification of the mushroom. It is therefore advisable to present several photographs on one observation, showing several details and diagnostic criteria. It is also possible to describe the criteria not visible or difficult to distinguish on the photographs by the description of the observation or its comments (smell, taste, microscopy, ecology, chemical reactions, etc.). Observation fields are also available to integrate recurrent information.
You can collect a few specimens for identification. Some criteria are not always easy to evaluate while being on the terrain.
For rare, interesting or unknown species, it is recommended to keep a voucher of the collection (conservation of dried specimens for later study). It is encouraged to include the use of microscopy and details of the literature.
Parasitic species often require identification of the host. If it is known, it is best to include it in the observation. If not, a second observation to identify the host can be created and a mention of this can be added to the observation.
Photographs should preferably be licensed under a Creative Commons license so that they can be used by scientists. The CC BY-NC license allows for free use provided the author is cited for non-commercial purposes, while the CC BY license allows for free use provided the author is cited.
If a taxon is missing from the iNaturalist database, please contact the staff.

Here are a few good observation examples:
Calocybe favrei
Puccinia lagenophorae
Cystoderma amianthinum

Categories

It is possible to compete in several categories simultaneously. The main goal is to contribute to science and to learn new things about the environment so there's no prize to win.
Most species
Members who have observed the most different species.
Most observations
Members who have created the most observations.
Best contributions
The best observations made during the event (rare species, weird substrates, atypical shapes, etc.). Please favorite the observations you are proud of so the staff can notice them!
Best photographs
The observations with the best photographs (only one photograph will be selected by observer). You are encouraged to fave observations with photographs you find beautiful so they will be easier to find for the staff at the end of the event. Please favorite the observations you are proud of so the staff can notice them!

Assistance

If you need assistance, please contact the staff. You can mention @nschwab on iNaturalist or send a message to the same account. It is also possible to contact Nicolas Schwab on Facebook or Messenger.
You can also learn how to use iNaturalist on the Getting Started and Help page. A video tutorial is also available to users.
There is also an iNaturalist forum where members will be happy to help you.

What's new?

• Some categories have changed nominating observations instead of people.
• Observers are now responsible of identifying their specimens. Given the success of the last Mycoblitz Europe edition it is impossible for the staff to go through all of them in a reasonable time. Don't worry, you can still tag them to get some help! They will go through observations to identify them as well but there's no guarantee that you'll get an identification on all your observations before the results are announced.
• When you make an interesting find or a photograph you are proud of, please fave it so it is easier to search. You can also add as a favourite the observations of other members.

Links

iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/
Project
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mycoblitz-europe-fall-2023
Journal of the event
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mycoblitz-europe-fall-2023/journal
Umbrella project
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/mycoblitz-europe