The biogeography and ecology of alien pathogenic fungi world

The increasing global interconnectedness of humankind also leads to the growing exchange of species across regions. Such so-called alien species are plants, fungi, animals, or microorganisms that are introduced by humans into new regions that they cannot colonise on their own. This is not always intentional, and although the majority of these biological invasions are inconspicuous, some can have far- reaching consequences - namely when these alien species become invasive, i.e., spread rapidly and aggressively in the new area and have negative consequences for biodiversity, the economy and human health. Although the research focus of invasion biology in recent decades has been on larger organisms such as plants or vertebrates, it is often smaller creatures that can have unexpectedly large consequences. Fungi elude the human eye for most of their lives but represent an immensely important component of biodiversity. Not only are they ubiquitous, but they also fulfil many functions in the habitats of our planet. While some species decompose dead organic material and thus play an important role in the nutrient cycle, others live in close relationship with a host, as so-called symbionts. Pathogenic fungi are detrimental to their host and associated with disease, and thus often have an important regulatory function in natural habitats. If pathogenic fungi are introduced to new regions, they may encounter new hosts that are particularly vulnerable due to lack of adaptation. This can have drastic consequences, such as mass mortality events or crop failures and subsequent famines. However, despite their importance, fungi are still underrepresented in ecological research today. The project "The biogeography and ecology of alien pathogenic fungi worldwide" aims to contribute to the improvement of knowledge on biological invasions of pathogenic fungi and to explore large-scale distribution patterns. Various questions will be addressed by means of a comprehensive database that not only summarises spatial and temporal information on the global distribution of alien pathogenic fungi, but also takes into account their hosts and functional traits. The project consists of four work packages, the first of which is dedicated to the database (WP1) and the other three to analysis. Here, distribution patterns across species and regions will be compared and possible socio-economic and climatic drivers of fungal invasions will be analysed (WP2). Furthermore, hypotheses of invasion biology are tested for their applicability to pathogenic fungi, host-fungal relationships in the course of invasion are explored (WP3), and research is carried out on whether there are certain functional traits that are found disproportionally often in invasive alien fungi or whether these fungi come with above-average frequency from certain kin groups (WP4).