Researcher Andrew stands in Afton Park, holding an ash leaf and writing a label on a plastic bag

ash tree with bark removed and visible beetle galleries

Minnesota has a larger Ash Tree population than any other American state. How are Emerald Ash Borer beetles changing the lives and health of Minnesota's ash populations? plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/galleries research by @andrewmann.bsky.social @forestmycology.bsky.social funding by NSF

larch beetle larvae crawling around in galleries in wood

tree mortality near Boy River

Four new fungal species discovered during examination of an Eastern larch beetle outbreak by @forestmycology.bsky.social @andrewmann.bsky.social plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/elb-lar...

The latest from my PhD!

(6/6) A few more findings! Species richness decreased (although not significantly) as trees were attacked by EAB. Some wood decay taxa became more abundant, while others became less abundant. There is much more detail in the actual paper and many more questions that could be asked with this dataset!

(5/6) These canker-causing fungal taxa were also present in the galleries of most trees, but in VERY high abundances. This is along the lines with, “Do all trees carry the seeds of their own destruction?”

(4/6) We also found that certain fungal taxa that are known to cause cankers in ash trees were present in very low abundances across most of the trees without EAB.

(3/6) ...the microbial communities in the EAB galleries and in the healthy phloem outside of the galleries shifted to communities that overlap with the EAB larvae and the larval frass.

(2/6) So, whichever microbes EAB might be introducing during the infestation process (directly or indirectly) do not appear to be traveling far distances from the branches to the trunk of the tree. However, once the larvae made their way down to the base of the tree...

(1/5) Some findings! We found that, while EAB larvae were only in the upper branches of trees, the fungal and bacterial communities in the phloem at the base of these trees remained consistent with microbial communities in the phloem of trees that were never attacked by EAB during this study.

A new study from my PhD was just published in Phytobiomes Journal! We repeatedly sampled ash stands in Minnesota over a four-year period to determine if and how the fungal and bacterial communities changed as the trees were attacked by the emerald ash borer.

apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/...

Illustrations from an earlier paper of a bunch of microcaddisflies that look like moths. Let’s be serious this is all just moths.

Mauricio Ramirez of UM giving a great talk about cool moths in the hydroptilid subfamily Stactobiinae

A new study just published from @andrewmann.bsky.social PhD dissertation on fungi and bacteria associated with the red turpentine beetle in its native range #fungi #insects #ecology www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/16...

Restricting visas to 4 years would be yet another way to strangle innovation in science. Please comment TODAY. Average PhD length in biomedicine is 5-6 years in USA.
Here is what I just posted. Direct link to add your comment: www.regulations.gov/document/ICE...

📢🍄Job alert🍄📢
The Department of Plant Pathology of the University of Georgia is accepting applications for an Assistant/Associate Professor in Fungal Biology/Mycology. Anticipated start date of May 2026. Open until filled, so apply now!

www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/445...

Michigan State University is hiring a new Director of our herbarium!

This is an open rank, tenure-stream faculty position, with research focus in plant or fungal systematics, ecology, and/or evolution

Please consider applying and help spread the word!

plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...

📢🍄Job alert🍄📢

The @manaakiwhenua.bsky.social group of the @bioeconomyscience.bsky.social in Auckland, New Zealand is hiring a full-time permanent mycologist, to focus on fungal diversity and taxonomy. Deadline to apply: 12 September 2025.

careers.sciencenewzealand.org/landcare-res...

Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System - East Lansing, Michigan, United States Working/Functional Title Assistant/Associate/Full Professor Tenure System Position Summary The Department of Plant Biology (PLB) at Michigan State University (MSU) seeks applications for a director of...

📢🍄Mycology job alert🍄📢

The Department of Plant Biology at @michiganstateu.bsky.social has a job opening for a herbarium/fungarium director at the Assistant, Associate or Full professor level. Review of applications start on 3rd October 2025.

careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista...

📣Submit your symposium & workshop proposals for #MSAfungi26 in Portland, Oregon now! Email your proposal (with title, organizers, rationale, speakers, and budget) to the Program Chair, Julia Kerrigan, at jkerrig[at]clemson.edu.

Theme: "Bridging Mycology Across Communities and Disciplines"

Job alert! - #Postdoc

Join the forest health team at the Holden Arboretum! We're looking for a postdoc to explore patterns of mortality and disease resistance in hemlock. #Job #AltAc
Want to chat? - I'll be at #ESA2025

holdenfg.org/career-and-i...

Virulence is not directly related to strain success in planta in Clavibacter nebraskensis | mSystems Non-pathogenic strains of many bacterial pathogens are reported to coexist with pathogenic strains in symptomatic plants. To understand the ecology and pathogenesis of the pathogen population, it is e...

New bacteriology publication: Virulence is not directly related to strain success in planta in Clavibacter nebraskensis 🌽 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

view of end of cross section of tree stem showing decay fungus in sapwood. Photo by Jason Smith.

Assistant Professor of Forest Pathology at the University of Florida. So much fungus!
explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/52...

CFANS Graduate Student Board Responsibilities include:Facilitate communication between graduate students, faculty, administration, and the alumni of CFANSParticipate directly in discussions and provide input on issues that conce...

The CFANS Graduate Student Board Grant applications are now live! If you're a UMN CFANS grad student, I encourage you to apply for GSB grants to cover research, travel, and club activity costs!

Apply here by November 3:

Aerial picture of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Quad, showing multiple buildings. Including the Illini Union in the foreground and Foellinger Hall at the other end of the main quad.

For the INSECT MICROBIOME crowd: The Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois will be hiring an Assistant Professor in Insect Microbiomes. Please share this ad with any one working in this area. (Application deadline = October 6th)

illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...