Myxomycetes of the Sierra Nevada
Dates: June 8-11, 2025
Instructor: Brian Perry and Alison Pollack
Fee: $425 + meals and accommodations fees
Term: Summer 2025
Course Description
An introduction to the biology, diversity and systematics of the Myxomycetes (i.e., slime molds). Students will learn how to locate, collect and study these fungus-like organisms. In addition to lectures and field work, class time will be also be devoted to investigating myxomycetes using light microscopy, and making quality photographic observations.
Instructor Bio
Alison Pollack is a renowned slime mold photographer and unabashed enthusiast of slime molds and their habitats. If you follow nature photographers on Instagram, perhaps you count yourself as one of her nearly 50,000 followers. Follow her on Instagram @marin_mushrooms to get a hint of the beauty of the slime molds, and Alison’s artistic skill in capturing them.
Instructor Bio
Brian Perry received a PhD in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University in 2006, where he worked on the systematics and evolution of the Ascomycete family Pyronemataceae. From there Brian went on to a postdoctoral position at San Francisco State University and then joined the faculty at the University of Hawaii in 2009 as an assistant professor of Biology. In 2013 Brian accepted a faculty position at California State University East Bay, finally making it back to California where he was born and raised. Brian has been studying fungal diversity, systematics and evolution since 1995. In addition to documenting the mushrooms and other fungi of Vanuatu, Dr. Perry's research focuses on the assembly, dynamics and biogeography of island fungal communities, endophytic fungi of Hawaiian plants, California fungi, the systematics of Mycena and allied genera and the evolution of fungal bioluminesence. Brian teaches both introductory and advanced courses in mycology at CSU East Bay. Brian may be contacted with this email address: brian.perry@csueastbay.edu His website is: https://www.perrymycolab.com
Course Details
Course Schedule
Participants should plan to arrive Sunday afternoon in time for dinner @ 6 pm and to attend an introductory lecture on Sunday evening at 8 p.m. The last class meeting ends at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Supplies List
Field equipment:
- collecting basket
- wax paper
- small tackle box for collecting fragile and/or tiny specimens
- sturdy knife
- a small hand cultivator or garden trowel (for digging truffles)
- a 10X hand lens
Required Textbook:
Spring Fungi of the Sierra Nevada, by D.E. Desjardin. The Instructor will have copies for purchase at SNFC. Please be sure to bring $25 cash or a personal check.
Additional Recommended Textbook:
California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide, by D.E. Desjardin, M.G. Wood and F.A. Stevens, Timber Press, 2015. Order at Timber Press or Amazon. A limited number of copies may be available for purchase at the SNFC
Lodging and Camping Supplies
Camping gear if you are staying on campus:
- tent and sleeping pad (unless you are staying in our tent with a cot provided)
- warm sleeping bag
- pillow, toiletries, and towel
- flashlight and lantern
- alarm clock
Field gear for everyone:
- day pack
- sunscreen
- insect repellant
- water bottles
- plastic containers for packed lunches
- sense of humor
You might also want to bring:
- camera
- binoculars
- hand lens
- camp chair
Clothing:
The weather in the Sierra Nevada can vary greatly, even in a single day. Be prepared for chilly temperatures at night, even below freezing early in the summer. Rain is a possibility any time, whether forecast or not. Variable weather clothing that can be layered is best: long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, warm sweater and jacket, t-shirt and shorts or skirt, sturdy shoes or hiking boots, sun hat, rain gear, and a warm hat or gloves for cold weather and/or night activities. And, if you come later in the season, bring your swimsuit for afternoon dips in the lakes!