XVI International Botanical Congess

Kangaroo rats and pocket mice, rodents of arid regions of western North America, have stored seeds for at least ten million years. The stored seeds are colonized rapidly by fungi. My research has shown that the fungi associated with the rodents, their burrows, and their seed caches are quite different from the fungi in the general soil. Fungal traits (temperature tolerances, growth rates, competitive abilities) appear to determine which fungi are associated with the rodents. Work to evaluate microfungal community variation among heteromyid host species and across geographic space is underway. Some fungi seem to benefit from this association, effects on the rodents are unclear. Similar symbioses between seed-hoarding rodents and fungi are likely in many parts of the world.