Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41711080›Full record

ArticleThe ISME journal2025

One hundred unanswered questions on the dispersal ecology of fungi.

Sarah A Cuprewich, Kristin M Barbour, Michelle E Afkhami, Kira M T Lynn, Adriana L Romero-Olivares, Carlos Aguilar-Trigueros, Priscila Chaverri, Cameron P Egan, Veera Norros, Kabir Peay and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The ISME journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Sarah A CuprewichEnvironmental Studies, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-9422-4042
Kristin M BarbourDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-2375-6359
Michelle E AfkhamiDepartment of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124,  United States.
Kira M T LynnPlant Health Program, Research and Development, Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd., Pangkalan Kerinci 28300, Riau, Indonesia.ORCID 0000-0003-0533-0458
Adriana L Romero-OlivaresDepartment of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521,  United States.ORCID 0000-0003-0287-3043
Carlos Aguilar-TriguerosDepartment of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland.
Priscila ChaverriDepartment of Natural Sciences, Bowie State University, Bowie, MD 20715,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8486-6033
Cameron P EganDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90007,  United States.
Veera NorrosNature Solutions, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki 00790,  Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-7481-0693
Kabir PeayDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-7998-7412
Robert J RamosCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5545-702X
Ryan StephensBiological Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614,  United States.ORCID 0000-0001-8524-9873
Lauren WardDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305,  United States.ORCID 0009-0002-0214-6938
V Bala ChaudharyEnvironmental Studies, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755,  United States.ORCID 0000-0002-7232-1757

Funding

HOST-MICROBE INTERACTIONST32AI007519 · NIAID · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI DEBORAH A HOGAN · 1997 to 2026
$5.9M
NIAID NIH HHS T32 AI007519
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fungi comprise millions of species that play numerous varied roles in Earth's natural and managed ecosystems, engaging in a multitude of positive and negative ecological interactions. The dispersal ecology of fungi is central to global biodiversity patterns, maintenance of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem functions, and tracking human disease and plant pathogen outbreaks. Mycologists have been studying dispersal mechanisms for over a hundred years, but new technology as well as interdisciplinary approaches have reinvigorated research in the field. Here we present 100 research questions in fungal dispersal organized into ten themes: 1) dispersal traits and mechanisms, 2) effects of phenology and lifestyle, 3) spore liberation and transport mechanisms, 4) colonization and establishment, 5) ecosystem-level consequences of dispersal, 6) dispersal in symbiotic and host-associated fungi, 7) dispersal in anthropogenic and changing environments, 8) evolution and tradeoffs in dispersal, 9) role of dispersal in invasion and disease spread, and 10) methodology and techniques. The questions reflect a diversity of new research avenues from fundamental fungal biology to applied ecosystem management and conservation across spatial and temporal scales. They potentially enable integrating fungi and their unique life-history traits and dispersal strategies into existing dispersal frameworks developed around plant and animal systems. We aim to invigorate fungal dispersal research, sparking conversations and providing a focused agenda to widen the tent by illuminating unanswered questions and new research avenues in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Indexed as

dispersal ecologydispersal evolutionfungispore transportsynthesistraits

Identifiers

PMID41711080
PMCPMC12954389

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.