Wildflower Health Watch

About the Project:

Wild plants and animals are commonly attacked by infectious diseases. This is a natural part of ecosystem processes, but one that is poorly understood outside of agriculture and domestic populations. We are working to better understand the health impacts of disease on plants in nature and to make predictions about the future in the light of climate change and increasing disturbance.

We study a disease of wildflowers that has the interesting life cycle where the normal pollen in the flowers is replaced with fungal spores. It spread between plants by the normal pollinating insects. Diseased plants can be identified by the dark brown anthers that carry disease spores; these are easily distinguished from normal anthers carrying yellow pollen. This disease, called "anther smut," does not kill the plants but sterilizes them. It is therefore easy to find diseased individuals in nature. Moreover, the disease is not a threat to agriculture or human health, and it has co-evolved with its host plant all around the world. It is therefore perfectly suited for research in disease ecology. The plants most affected are the wildflowers in the carnation family (the Caryophyllaceae). The fungus is in the genus Microbotryum.

We have created the Wildflower Health Watch project, and are now using the iNaturalist.com platform for collecting and sharing data.

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/wildflower-health-watch-anther-smut-fungi

Link for more information about the research project:

Michael Hood (Amherst College)

Janis Antonovics (University of Virginia)

Project supported by award DEB-1115765

from the National Science Foundation