Learn how to study this fascinating symbiosis in 7 days packed with hands-on sampling, lab exercises, and discussions guided by an experienced team of entomologists and mycologists.
WHERE
University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, USA.
Plant Pathology Department classroom 2564.
WHEN
- May 12, 2025: arrivals
- May 13-19, 2025: workshop
- May 20, 2025: departures2
What you will learn
HANDS-ON SAMPLING AND ISOLATION
- collect ambrosia and bark beetles in the university forest and store samples for fungus isolation
- learn data management to link specimens, fungal isolates, molecular methods, and sequences
- identify ambrosia beetles using morphological characters
- understand morphology of ambrosia fungi, macro and micro
- both strict ambrosia symbioses as well as non-nutritional associations (bark beetles as passive vectors) will be taught
- take high-quality photographs of beetles and share them with experts for identification
- learn how to isolate ambrosia fungi and avoid contaminants
- extract DNA from fungi and from beetle mycangia for molecular identification
- choose appropriate primers and PCR-amplify DNA from ambrosia beetles and ambrosia fungi
GUIDED ANALYSES
- process and interpret sequencing data from barcoding analyses using free software
- publish species records and molecular data
- statistical and ecological analysis of ambrosia fungus community from isolation and sequencing studies
THEORY
- ask interesting questions, design robust experiments, publish high-impact papers
- identify and avoid common pitfalls in ambrosia symbiosis research
- emerging biosecurity issues
COST
Non-UF external participants: US$1,592, the analog of 3 UF credits. The cost includes:
- textbook
- research materials
- ambrosia fungi cultures
- ambrosia beetle collection
- local transport.
The cost does not include $39/day for on-campus lodging, and it does not include food.
Full registration: $1,542 by March 30, 2025. (Only available to those who paid the pre-registration)
Accommodation: we recommend that participants stay at the university dorms for visiting scholars, which we are arranging. There will be an option to reserve that on the Eventbrite registration website.
Regarding flights: logistically it is best to fly directly to Gainesville. Cheaper flights may be available to Orlando, but it may require either a bus or car rental (we may be able to provide limited transportation from Orlando).
MORE QUESTIONS? Feel free to contact us at [email protected].
Detailed schedule
Day One (May 12)
- Attendees arrive, no class. Optional welcome celebration at 7:00 p.m.
Day Two (May 13)
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Introduction to the Ambrosia Symbiosis: Beetles (Jiri Hulcr)
- Pre-test of participant knowledge
- Workshop Proceedings: participant’s writing assignments.
- Concepts in modern forest entomology
- Brief history of ambrosia symbiosis research
- Morphological features of bark and ambrosia beetles
- Identification of select bark beetles
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Introduction to the Ambrosia Symbiosis: Beetles (cont.)
- Identification of beetle tribes involved with fungi, tribes and genera in Scolytinae and Platypodinae: hands-on work with microscopes and reference collections.
- 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Databasing the Symbiosis (Jiri Hulcr and Miranda Barnes)
- Best practices in data management for modern beetle-fungus symbiosis research
- Incorporating database-centered approaches for keeping track of samples
- 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Light Trapping at the University forest
Day Three (May 14)
- 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Collecting Ambrosia Beetles from Wood (Jiri Hulcr, at the University Forest)
- Bring your collecting tools, if you have them!
- Signs of ambrosia beetle infestation
- Extracting ambrosia beetles from galleries
- Keeping Preserving live beetles for fungal culture in sawdust media
- 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Fungi of the Ambrosia Symbiosis (Matt Smith, Miranda Barnes, and Katy Deitz)
- Biology of major fungal groups
- Fungal metabolism and reproduction
- Culturing fungi from ambrosia beetles
Day Four (May 15)
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Fungi of the Ambrosia Symbiosis (cont.)
- Morphological features of ambrosia fungi
- Fungal microscopy
- Isolating fungi from mixed cultures
- Afternoon: Free afternoon for participants to explore Florida or work on their Proceedings submission.
Day Five (May 16)
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Molecular Barcoding for beetles and fungi (Alora Richardson and Jiri Hulcr)
- Molecular barcoding of insect and fungi together
- Optimizing DNA extraction
- Selecting primers for PCR
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Building Trees and Beyond Barcoding (Alora Richardson and Jiri Hulcr)
- Visualization and interpretation of phylogenetic trees
- Applying statistical methods to barcoding data in R
Day Six (May 17)
- Rest day for participants to explore Florida or work on their Proceedings submission.
Day Seven (May 18)
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Understanding and Writing Taxonomic Literature focused on ambrosia beetles and symbiotic fungi (Andrew Johnson and Matt Smith)
- Anatomy of a taxonomic treatment
- Photography of beetles and fungi
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Data Management for Persistence and Reuse (Miranda Barnes and Jiri Hulcr)
- Preserving physical material
- Making fungal slants and plugs
- Sharing data to major data repositories
- Proceedings submissions due at the end of Day Seven.
Day Eight (May 19)
- 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The Future of Ambrosia Symbiosis Research (Jiri Hulcr)
- Evaluating literature
- International collaboration
- Outstanding questions in the field
- 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Optional tour of the Florida State Collection of Arthropods)
Day Nine (May 20)
- Attendees depart