Online Forays for Macrofungi: Expediting the Rate of Documenting Biodiversity

Abstract

A citizen-science oriented mushroom collecting event was organized online and held across the state of Indiana from October 23-29, 2017. Utilizing iNaturalist as the observational reporting platform, 30 members of the Hoosier Mushroom Society made over 1,300 observations of macrofungi during the week of the event. More importantly, the associated specimens were saved for more than 800 of the observations. Over 400 of the specimens were retained and received DNA barcodes, resulting in novel genotypes for 73 putative species being added to public databases. A full set of administrator and participant protocols has been compiled to aid others in conducting this style of biodiversity research for macrofungi. Methods include volunteer recruitment, participant protocols, specimen shipment, triage, and storage. Data management is also a key administrative aspect. Methodologies for integrating iNaturalist observational data with DNA sequence data and herbarium collection information are outlined for the MycoMap platform. Traditional mushroom collecting events have a number of limitations when compared to the online foray model. These advantages are discussed and key considerations for hosting online forays are examined.