How do fungal communities differ between ancient and recently restored species-rich grasslands along a connectivity gradient?

My doctoral research at Aberystwyth University seeks to answer this question. I am supported by a DAERA studentship, and a grant from the Irish Naturalists' Journal allowed me to purchase a microscope which I am using in my PhD.

Plant-parasite networks in grasslands

I am visiting grassland sites across Northern Ireland and beyond. At each site I survey 2×2m quadrats for vascular plants and parasitic fungi and oömycetes across multiple seasons. The parasites are identified using field morphology, microscopy, and DNA barcoding. These records are all available on my PhD iNaturalist project. I will use these data to answer several questions:

How are plant-parasite networks structured? How do they evolve over different timescales?

I will construct local networks based on field data and compare these to Europe-wide networks based on published literature. I will use evolutionary modelling to try and better understand how their structure arises.

How do different grassland communities differ in network structure? Is it possible to recreate networks like those in ancient grasslands?

By comparing restored sites of different ages I hope to understand how networks form over time and if they become more similar to those in ancient grasslands.

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