Fungi
Fungi, which include mushrooms, are classified in their own kingdom, separated from plants and animals. They absorb organic molecules from their surroundings, either by decomposing dead organisms, or by growing as parasites on living plants or animals.
A)Web site name: Utah State University
Web URL:
Read “What are Fungi”
1)Where is the mycelium usually hidden? ______
2)What organisms make chitin? ______
3)How is the way a fungus “feeds” different from the way an animal feeds? ______
4)What are two fungal diseases in humans? ______
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5)How can fungi extend their range? ______
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6)How have fungi adapted to the problem of the “boundary layer”? ______
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7)How far away can wheat rust spores land? ______
8)Why is a puffball not efficient at dispersing spores? ______
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9)Which tree roots do truffles grow near? ______
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10)Why are dogs preferred to pigs as truffle hunters? ______
11)What are two problems with using dogs to find truffles? ______
12)What are three clues used by US truffle collectors to find truffles?
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B)Web site address: Perspective periodicals
Web URL:
Look at “Club Fungi (Basidiomycota)”
13)Pick two of these fungi and briefly explain what interesting facts you found out about them:
Fungus: ______Information: ______
Fungus: ______Information: ______
Click on the photo under “Sac Fungi (Ascomycota)”
14)How do Ascomycota discharge their spores? ______
15)Look at the photo of Black Morel ( Morchella elata ). What does this fungus look like? ______
16)What is the common name for Xylaria polymorpha ? ______
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17)What two organisms make up a lichen? ______
18)How can you distinguish crustose from foliose lichens? ______
19)What is an identifying characteristic of all Usnea species? ______
C)Web site name: Florida State College at Jacksonville
Web URL:
Read “The first farmers”
20)What part of the world has attine ants? ______
21)Why do the ants eat fungus rather than leaves? ______
22)How does the fungus benefit from the relationship? ______
23)Why was it hard until recently to identify the fungus? ______
24)Why does the ant species in Florida cultivate a local fungus? ______
D)Web site name: Science Daily
Web URL:
Read “Do three meals a day keep fungi away?”
25)What is the connection between fungi and the body temperature of mammals? ______
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26)How many fungi are pathogenic to plants? ______
27)What is the lowest temperature in this experiment that fungal growth was tested? ______
28)Why do reptiles need to eat only once a day at most? ______
29)What is the new possibility about the extinction of the dinosaurs? ______
E)Web site name: North American Mycological Association
Web URL:
Click ona couple of these websites under “General”, particularly the ones that refer to North America. Pick out one that you find interesting.
30)Which web site did you find?
31) Briefly summarize some of the information in this website: ______
F)Web site name: Scientific American
Web URL:
Read “Fungus makes zombie ants to all the work”
32) What is the scientific name of the ant in this article?
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33) In which country was this study conducted? ______
34) What are the four specific features of the sites where the ants died?
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35) How did researchers show that this location was important to the fungus?
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36) From which part of the ant’s body did the hyphae emerge?
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37) How does a nematode parasite change ants to ensure they are eaten?
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38) What problems could be caused by releasing Ampulex compressa wasps (which are native to Central America) into Florida to control roaches?
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