1,2- 1Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Uppsala, Sweden
- 2IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
Freshwater habitats are home to a rich diversity of aquatic fungi, with more than 4000 described species and new taxa continually being identified from across the fungal tree of life. Through interactions with all trophic levels (as decomposers, pathogens, parasites, predators, and endobionts), aquatic fungi are important drivers of ecosystem health and resilience, influencing food web dynamics and the overall functioning of freshwater ecosystems. However, these fungi are largely neglected in existing conservation and monitoring plans and policies. FUNACTION, supported by the Biodiversa+ EU Biodiversity Partnership, is working towards the conservation of aquatic fungi by: 1) performing coordinated sampling/studies within Europe to generate knowledge about the distributions of aquatic fungi and factors driving those distributions; 2) using that knowledge as a basis to inform conservation and monitoring; and 3) raising awareness of aquatic fungal diversity and ecological importance. A ‘hot off the press’ view of aquatic fungal diversity and functioning will be presented—with insights from eDNA metabarcoding and metagenomics, field tests of ecosystem functioning (e.g., organic matter decomposition), and extensive metadata (e.g., water chemistry, land use, climate, and protection status). These data contribute towards the modeling of fungal diversity in relation to environmental and human pressures. They also facilitate the evaluation of existing protections for fungi in freshwater and the development of new guidance for aquatic fungi in conservation. To support uptake of aquatic fungi in conservation and monitoring, FUNACTION has prioritized outreach and the development of diverse global and local stakeholder networks and collaborations (e.g., IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, public webinars, and e-learning for hobbyists). Our experiences with this work will be shared to support co-learning. We will highlight approaches that have been effective, as well as the ongoing challenges we face in our work to grow capacity, awareness, and conservation interest in understudied fungi. FUNACTION: https://funaction.eu/.
Listed in alphabetical order by surname: Andreas Bruder — Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland. FWBON, the Freshwater Biodiversity Observation Network of GEOBON, Montreal, Canada. IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland. Michael Bruun-Nielsen — Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Uppsala, Sweden. Monika Böhm — Global Center for Species Survival, Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, USA. Red Calore — Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland. Cátia Canteiro — Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), Dover, USA. IUCN Species Survival Commission, Fungal Conservation Committee, Gland, Switzerland. Selene Chinaglia — Water Research Institute CNR-IRSA of Verbania / Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy, Verbania, Italy. Sérgio Costa — CBMA-Centre for Molecular and Environmental Biology / ARNET-Aquatic Research Network / IB-S-Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Ester Maria Eckert — Water Research Institute CNR-IRSA of Verbania / Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy, Verbania, Italy. Isabel Fernandes — Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Bellinzona, Switzerland. CBMA-Centre for Molecular and Environmental Biology / ARNET-Aquatic Research Network / IB-S-Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland. Emanuele Ferrari — Water Research Institute CNR-IRSA of Verbania / Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy, Verbania, Italy. Lars Ganzert — Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany. Laura Garzoli — Water Research Institute CNR-IRSA of Verbania / Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy, Verbania, Italy. IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN SSC Aquatic Fungi Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland. Diana Graça — CBMA-Centre for Molecular and Environmental Biology / ARNET-Aquatic Research Network / IB-S-Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Hans-Peter Grossart — Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany. Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany. Veljo Kisand — Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. Pietro Marchese — Water Research Institute CNR-IRSA of Verbania / Molecular Ecology Group (MEG), National Research Council of Italy, Verbania, Italy. Mathew O’Niell — Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland. Kristel Panksep — Chair of Hydrobiology and Fishery, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia. Department of Aquatic Resources, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. Solvig Pinnow — Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany. Victoria Prins — Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. Alice Retter — Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany. Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany. Daniel Romero-Mujalli — Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Mendrisio, Switzerland. Ronaldo Sousa — CBMA-Centre for Molecular and Environmental Biology / ARNET-Aquatic Research Network / IB-S-Institute of Science and Innovation for Bio-Sustainability, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Jeff Stallman — Global Center for Species Survival, Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, USA. Leho Tedersoo — Mycology and Microbiology Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. Olga Vinnere Pettersson — SciLifeLab, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Ziming Wang — Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Uppsala, Sweden.
How to cite: Anderson, J. and the FUNACTION Consortium: Aquatic fungi in conservation: Insights and approaches from FUNACTION, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-812, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-812, 2026.
