Episode description

Today on Mushroom Hour we have the privilege of being joined by Prof. Toby Kiers - Professor of Evolutionary Biology and University Research Chair at Vrije Fryy Universiteit Universitight Amsterdam. Her lab uses nanoprobes and high-resolution imaging to map the nutrient flows and architecture of plant-fungal networks. She is globally recognized for her scientific work in the evolution of symbiotic trade, and her public outreach activities, including a 2019 TED talk. Kiers won an Ammodo Award in 2019 for “unfettered science”, was awarded the E.O. Wilson Award for Natural History in 2021 and won an IMPACT award from the Dutch science foundation in 2021 for founding the non-profit SPUN - the Society for the Protection of Underground networks.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Morel Memories  & Research in Panama   
• Refining Definitions of Symbiosis and Mutualism    
• How Ecosystems are Shaped by Competitive and Symbiotic Dynamics   
• Symbiosis and Mutualism without Altruism    
• Competition within Mutualisms    
• Biological Market Theory   
• "Decisions" vs. Genetic Strategies   
• Quantum Dot Technology & Visualizing Fungal Networks   
• Mysteries of Bi-Directional Nutrient Transport & Molecular Motors     
• Fungal & Plant Market Manipulations   
• Can Understanding Fungal Market Economies Help Us Predict the Stock Market?    
• How Do We Quantify Flows in Real World Forests?   
• SPUN – The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks    
• Shifting Conservation Priorities to the Unseen   

EPISODE RESOURCES:   

• Toby Kiers Website: https://tobykiers.com/   
• SPUN Website: https://www.spun.earth/   
• Ronald Noë (Biological Market Theory): https://sites.google.com/site/ronaldnoe/RN-home?authuser=0   
• Rhizophagus aggregatus (fungus): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=241619