Smyth Mycology

Coastal and Marine Mycology

Not Offerred in 2026
See you in 2027!

Three Week Field Course – Chincoteague Bay Field Station

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Binghamton #Mycology students using molecular biology to identify the fungi they isolated from insect galls! Former research student Rachel Pitt (@_rachell__p ) is representing @binghamtonu @harpurcollege at the 2026 Mycological Society of America meeting in Portland, Oregon #MSA2026. Here are some of the interesting fungi moved into pure culture from our insect galls. #Mycology #Fungi BIOL442 students show us out to isolate fungi into pure culture! #Mycology So, we found our galls. We brought them to the lab. We set them up on agar plates for isolations. What happens next!? Tune in to find out! Hello Everyone - It's been a while! But don't worry, Binghamton Mycology is back to talk more about the awesome projects Mycology students have worked on over the last year. Happy #MycoMonday More incredible fungal endophyte diversity from Team 6's insect galls. Kokkocynips rileyi (K. rileyi) is a species of parasitic wasp that uses galls to grow on red oaks (Quercus ruba). These galls are normally found under the underside of the leaf and take two years to emerge. Endophyte fungus is found all throughout plants, like their roots, branches, and leaves. These fungi are also found with the galls. These fungi benefit the plants and provide increased stress resistance from biotic and abiotic factors. This project focuses on the different fungi present in the gall body, the kapello, and healthy/galled leaves. Here is some more of the incredible #fungal diversity found associated with insect galls from Team 4 in #Mycology this semester. Next stop, sequencing! Beyond #Fungi, Mycology students have been learning lots about the parasitic wasp, Kokkocynips rileyi. The larvae of this wasp develop inside of tiny, beautiful structures called galls - typically on Red Oak leaves.
Hunting for Mycoplankton
Kayaking Swan’s Gut
Exploring the salt marsh.
Collecting marine sponges!
Compound scope image of a sexual structure (Cleistothecium) squashed to reveal ascospores.
Dissecting scope images of ascomycotan sexual structures on saltmarsh cordgrass.
Dissecting scope images of ascomycotan sexual structures on saltmarsh cordgrass.
Ascospores (sexual spores) of a marine fungus found on salt marsh cordgrass.
Students working to isolate fungi from marine sponges collected from the Chincoteague Bay.