Hi!
My name is Ari. I am teaching Principles of Biology (BIOL 198), Organismic Biology (BIOL 201), and Biology of Fungi (BIOL 604). Additionally, in due time, there will be a graduate level class in ecology of fungi.

I am also developing a research program. Currently, my lab is focusing on direct analyses of fungal communities in rhizospheres. More specifically, we have started on a project to define and characterize niche preferences among ectomycorrhizal fungi on a retreating glacier forefront. We are also characterizing the fungal communities colonizing Rhizomes of the leafy liverwort Cephaloziella exiliflora in Antarctica. We use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment analyses or cloning of the PCR-generated products to identify the fungi present in our samples.

I have also been fortunate to establish a fruitful collaboration with friends and colleagues in Australia. Read more on that project here.