As a graduate researcher, I study ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErM fungi) and their associations with cranberry plants. Because the United States is the largest global producer of cranberries, with Wisconsin accounting for 60% of nationwide production, exploring alternative management practices that reduce use of fertilizers and water while maintaining yields and plant health, could have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the land we inhabit and the agricultural community. As a graduate researcher, I study ericoid mycorrhizal fungi (ErM fungi) and their associations with cranberry plants. Because the United States is the largest global producer of cranberries, with Wisconsin accounting for 60% of nationwide production, exploring alternative management practices that reduce use of fertilizers and water while maintaining yields and plant health, could have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the land we inhabit and the agricultural community. ErM fungi are beneficial root-dwellers that form a symbiotic relationship with cranberry plants (and other ericaceous plants like blueberry, lingonberry, and rhododendrons). There is so much exploration to be done on these fungi and my research runs the gamut, investigating the potential of these cosmopolitan symbionts to enhance both tolerance of drought stress and access to readily available organic nutrients— i.e., the reduction of irrigation and the inorganic fertilizers that leach into watersheds. We’re also curious about the comparative biodiversity of fungal communities present inside wild versus cultivated cranberry roots. Between these projects in the lab, greenhouse, and field, this research has given me the opportunity to learn and create more protocols than I ever would have imagined. But I didn’t begin in the biological sciences arena. I double-majored in linguistics and anthropology as an undergraduate, conducting research in the context of conversation, gender, and institutional hierarchy. On the face of it, these fields may seem unrelated, but the idea of interconnectedness is still there; we all exist in dynamic relation to each other, whether we’re microbes and roots or the scientists studying them. We cannot expect to succeed in conservation work if we don’t make an effort to understand people.
