NZFUNGI - New Zealand Fungi

NZFUNGI provides online access to:

• Information from the PDD Nationally Significant collection of fungi 

• Information from the ICMP Nationally Significant Collection of micro-organisms associated with plants

• Taxonomic information and New Zealand presence/absence status of important fungi, plant associated bacteria and viruses

• Relevant literature references with content indexed against host/pathogen

• On-line descriptions, images and identification keys to many taxa

• Distribution maps of geo-referenced collection records

Statistics

9th January 2007

Names:
Total 32,764; preferred 22,059 (synonyms 10,705); misapplied 780.

Taxon Biostatus:
Absent from NZ 8,951 (200 recorded in error); Present in NZ 10,822 (2,145 exotic; 1,224 of uncertain origin; 3,723 indigenous (1,449 endemic))

Fungal Conservation Status:
Nationally Critical 47; Serious Decline 1; Gradual Decline 1; Sparse 2; Data Deficient 1,428

Fungal Herbarium Collections:
Total 83,688 (1,305 Holotypes); from NZ 57,170; from Pacific Region 7,267

Living Collections:
Total 15,591 (Fungi 6,877; Bacteria 8,622); from NZ 8,455

Literature References:
Total 10,322 (with indexing to 24,925 fungal names and 2,753 host plant names)

Descriptions:
Total 3,648 (covering 3,046 taxa in 362 publications) 

Images:
Total 15,031 (covering 7,068 taxa; including 1,631 figures/plates from publications)

Keys:
192 dichotomous keys for NZ species from 58 publications covering 1,342 species.
9 interactive Delta keys (7 covering all known species globally).

Distribution Maps:
Point distribution maps are dynamically generated for all geo-referenced records with public access

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Introduction

In 2001 a suite of legacy databases relating to mycology, bacteriology, systematics and pathology were consolidated into an integrated information resource and some (but not all) of these data, were made available through the NZFUNGI website. The development of NZFUNGI was one output from the Database Integration Project (DIP) which ran from 1999-2004 and was partly funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology. DIP was focussed on redevelopment and accessibility of the data contained in the seven FRST Nationally Significant Databases & Collections maintained by Landcare Research. The National Fungal Herbarium (PDD) and the International Collection of Micro-organisms from Plants (ICMP) are two of those collections/databases, and the data from the dried and living collections of fungi and bacteria form one part of the NZFUNGI information resource.

Searching for information
The database currently contains six related categories of information: names, literature, herbarium collections, cultures, hosts and lists.

Search Names
You can search for a name (or any part of a name) and retrieve a list of entries that link to the details page for that name.

On the name details page you can see then omenclatural details for the name, and all its synonyms, including the authority and place of publication. Synonyms are other names by which the species has been known. The preferred name provided by NZFUNGI is in accordance with the cited Taxonomic Reference. Some authors of names are prefixed by ‘sensu’, which implies that the authors gave names to collections which were totally wrong. In earlier periods many European names were applied to New Zealand collections, and these collections were subsequently re-identified and found to represent species endemic to this region. Also included within the synonymy are the anamorph/teleomorph connections between asexual and sexual stages. Fungi are currently allowed to have two different names under the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature. In NZFUNGI we identify which anamorph name is preferred, if there is a choice. We also indicate if a sexual stage is known to have an un-named asexual state in a particular genus – as many of these have economic importance. The database contains many names that do not apply to any currently accepted records of New Zealand species. Such names will have few linked attributes and have not been comprehensively edited. Names which have been used for taxa present in Zealand are designated by an adjacent fern symbol.

Attached to the 'taxon view' of the name and its synonyms are links to all the other related data-elements and related 'attributes'. It should be remembered that data curation is an on-going process and we are grateful for any feedback on omissions or errors.

A note on taxonomy and nomenclature: The number of synonyms, and the choice of correct, or preferred name, is determined by two different factors. Firstly, by the application of the nomenclatural rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (objective data) applied to the set of names. Secondly, by taxonomic opinion (subjective data) about the overlap between different opinions (circumscriptions) in the application of the set of names to real species. The taxonomic concepts in NZFUNG (the set of synonyms and preferred name) may not, therefore, conform to those provided elsewhere.

Attributes associated with a name include:

• Biostatus. This provides a simple, and considered statement on the presence or absence of this taxon in New Zealand together with a comment on its origin.
• Simple dot distribution maps for specimens in PDD with collection location data (which will eventually be replaced by a link to the Landcare Research spatial integration platform).
• Bibliographic citations: links to literature referring to this name or any of its synonyms.
• Herbarium collections in PDD for this name or any of its synonyms
• Living cultures in ICMP for this name or any of its synonyms
• Images of the taxon (some associated with specific collections, or figures from publications)
• Descriptions of the taxon taken from the scientific literature.
• Identification keys. There are sets of standard dichotomous keys taken from the literature. Also included here are a number of Delta, on-line, multi-access keys
• DOC & MAF status. Landcare Research together with the Department Of Conservation have identified a number of fungi within particular conservation categories. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry maintain a number of lists of organisms of potential threat to New Zealand. Names, or synonyms, within these lists are highlighted. The data in these lists are updated only periodically.
• Groups. 'Groups' are the name given to a variety of attributes which apply to a name, or group of names at any rank, and which are inherited by all members of the rank. Examples of groups include common and informal names for species or groups of fungi.
• Links. This provides hyperlinks to other resources on the Internet for this name and its synonyms. In particular it contains a link to the entries in the IndexFungorum global nomenclator for names of fungi. Landcare Research is a partnership of the IndexFungorum consortium.

Search Literature
On this page you can search for articles by the title, author, host species, or a keyword. The result of the search is a list of references. Each of these provides a link to the names and host species mentioned in the particular article.

Search Herbarium
On this page you can search the collections in PDD (a nationally significant database & collection) by a variety of attributes. The result of the search is a list of PDD herbarium accession numbers. 'Type' collections are highlighted. Each Accession number provides a link to further details relating to that collection. Precise locality details for collections are not provided, however, the 'crosby' area code is provided. (Crosby, T.K.; Dugdale, J.S.; Watt, J.C. 1998: Area codes for recording specimen localities in the New Zealand subregion. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 25: 175-183.)

Search Cultures
This page provides the main access point to the data contained in the ICMP living collection of strains of bacteria and fungi.

Search Hosts
This page provides a service to pathologists and biosecurity staff interested in the fungi and bacteria associated with particular plant hosts. The associated organisms are listed from the indexed literature, and the herbarium and living collections.

Attributes
This provides an entry point for finding links relating to the current set of taxon attributes, i.e. pictures, descriptions, keys and groups.

A note on data quality
The quality of the information relating to names which have been used in the literature in New Zealand is higher than for other names present in the database. It is only though the recent introduction of a highly structured taxonomic data-model that internal data consistencies can be identified and corrected, and this process is on-going. Please let us know if you detect any errors in the data. The data is continuously curated and updated and changes will be applied to the website frequently. The taxonomic content of the site is reviewed by the specialist systematists within Landcare Research in collaboration with workers throughout New Zealand and elsewhere.

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Acknowledgments

A number of external data-sets have been used in checking and compiling information. In particular CABI's Funindex, Dictionary of Fungi classification, and databases of family names have been invaluable. Landcare Research is a member of a partnership which manages the IndexFungorum global nomenclator. All of these data-sets are available on-line at CABI Bioscience Databases. Clive Shirley and Shirley Kerr of the New Zealand Fungus Foray Group are thanked for their continuing assistance in capturing descriptions and images from the literature. Clive's Hidden Forest website contains many beautiful photographs of fungi and is highly recommended, as is Shirley's website of the natural history of Kaimai Bush at http://www.kaimaibush.co.nz/.

The following publishers and individuals are acknowledged for permission to reproduce species descriptions and keys.

• CSIRO PUBLISHING - Australian Systematic Botany
• SIR PUBLISHING - New Zealand Journal of Botany
• NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA - Canadian Journal of Botany
• MYCOTAXON LTD. - Mycotaxon
• Geoff Ridley, Ann Bell
• BRITISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY - Mycological Research

The NZ Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System programme (TFBIS) is acknowledged for providing funds to enhance this resource. Specifically TFBIS funding has allowed us to increase the number of descriptions, illustrations, identification keys and to collate information on the biostatus of fungi.

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Biosecurity Disclaimer

The NZFUNGI database of fungi and bacteria was developed for taxonomic purposes. It is a working document, in constant upgrade and improvement. Quality of data with regard to presence of a taxon in New Zealand varies: - from 'high' where the New Zealand record is based on published literature, New Zealand specimens, and New Zealand cultures; through to 'low' where a record is based on a single unauthenticated New Zealand specimen or culture (and therefore must be considered doubtful). Specialists at Landcare Research should be consulted whenever there is any doubt about presence or absence of a taxon in New Zealand, especially for taxa for which published New Zealand records are lacking. Contact the manager of NZFUNGI at: MycologyDB

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