FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two graduate students at the University of Arkansas presented papers at the 14th annual Latin American Mycological Congress in November. 

Laura Walker and Isadora Coelho, doctoral students in the Department of Biological Sciences, graduate students in Biological Sciences, traveled to the conference in Medellín, Colombia, to present their dissertation research on myxomycetes in tropical climates.

Myxomycetes are a group of slime molds that are not plants or animals but they share some characteristics of both. They are found all over the world, yet they remain mostly a mystery to scientists. 

The conference included eight keynote addresses from world-renowned mycologists and hosted 29 symposia covering a broad range of topics. Walker and Coelho were invited speakers in a symposium titled “Research Perspectives of Myxomycetes in Latin America.”

Carlos Rojas, a professor at the University of Costa Rica who earned a doctorate at the University of Arkansas in 2010, organized the myxomycetes symposium.

Coelho and Walker are working on projects that further the understanding of myxomycete ecology and factors responsible for their patterns of distribution.

Walker, working in Panama with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, is utilizing a 14-year fertilization experiment to test the affects of changes in nutrient status to the myxomycete community. Coelho is working in the Amazon rainforest in her home country of Brazil with a goal to identify specific associations between myxomycete species and their preferred microhabitats, such as soil, leaf litter and tree bark.

Both Walker and Coelho are writing their dissertations under the direction of Steve Stephenson, a research professor in biological sciences at the U of A and one of the world’s leading experts in the field of slime mold research.

“The symposium was very well attended and provided the chance for both of us to connect with leading myxomycete researchers from around the world, which is an invaluable opportunity for graduate students,” Walker said.