Fungi Symbiosis!

The next talk as part of George Mason Observatory’s ‘Evenings Under the Stars’ series (where you’ll also get to look at awesome galaxies, stars, planets and more through our 0.8 meter telescope!) will be ‘Fungi Symbiosis’ by Manuela Dal-Forno. As always the event is free and everyone is invited!

Some details about the event: Monday 18 November 2013: 1st talk at 7 PM, same talk at 745 PM, observing starts at 730PM until 930PM. Directions to GMU and Research Hall here: http://eagle.gmu.edu/map/fairfax.php Zoom in to find Research Hall next to engineering building and York River Rd. Keep an eye on twitter for updates – Just keep an eye out for weather – the event may be postponed or cancelled due to bad conditions – updates will be available here – Observatory Twitter

About the talk:

Symbiosis literally means living together and in biology more specifically refers to an interaction between two or more different species . Many examples come quickly when thinking about that such as the clown fish and the sea anemone, lichens, mycorrhizae, coral reefs and algae, etc. But how complicated or beneficial is life under those conditions? Do they always live together? This week’s talk will instigate you to think about these relationships! Come learn a bit about symbiosis and share your ideas!

About the speaker:

Manuela Dal-Forno is a PhD candidate in the Environmental Science and Public Policy Program at George Mason University. For her undergrad she majored in biology, followed by a Master’s degree in botany, both in Brazil. For her PhD, as well as previous projects, she works with taxonomy of tropical lichens, therefore her interest in symbiosis overall. As a hobby, she likes to go on mushrooms-observing walks and photograph nature.