Biodiversity in the North West explored in new book
The final instalment in a series of books on biodiversity in the North West has been published by the University of Chester Press.
Visiting Professor of Environmental Biology and Emeritus Professor of Applied Science, Bruce Ing, has studied fungi for more than 60 years and has published more than 200 papers on mycological subjects.
His latest publication, Biodiversity in the North West: The Puffballs, Earthballs and Other Gasteroid Fungi in Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man, is an account of a popular group of fungi, the puffballs, earthballs, earthstars, bird’s-nest fungi and stinkhorns, which are easily spotted, fairly easy to identify and, in many cases, long lasting in the fruiting stage.
The book begins with a short introduction to the biology of the fungi, the physical and biological environment of the North West and the Isle of Man is described. The main part of the book is a detailed catalogue of all the species recorded in the region, with information about their ecology, distribution and abundance. The records date back to the 19th century but are concentrated in the last 60 years.
Bruce taught at Chester College, now the University of Chester, from 1971 to 2013. He lived in North Wales for nearly 40 years but is now retired to the north-west Highlands of Scotland where he continues to research the local fungi.
Four other books are available in this series, Biodiversity in the North West: The Slime Moulds of Cheshire; Biodiversity in the North West: The Slime Moulds of Lancashire and Cumbria; Biodiversity in the North West: The Mildews of Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria and Biodiversity in the North West: The Rusts and Smuts of Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man. All are published by the University of Chester Press.
On June 10, another book written by Bruce entitled The Myxomycetes of Britain and Ireland: An Identification Handbook will be published in paperback for the first time. Originally published by Richmond Publishing in hardback in 1999, Bruce has given the University of Chester Press permission to reprint the book in paperback following demand from slime mould enthusiasts for this work to be made available again.
The book was the the first to comprehensively study this interesting life form, which plays an important role in the decomposition of plant material through the recycling of key nutrients, such as phosphorus. Myxomycetes (slime moulds) were once considered a special group of fungi. However, they are now grouped within Amoebozoa as unicellular protists that adopt a multicellular aggregate form in certain conditions.
Introductory chapters cover life-history, structure, ecology, distribution, how to find and collect material, bark culture techniques, microscopic examination, and herbarium storage of ‘slime-moulds’. The detailed accounts cover identification, keys, descriptions and illustrations. They also include notes on differences from other similar species.
To find out more about the University of Chester Press visit here.