The Fungi Facing Extinction and the Conservationists Working Hard to Protect Them

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.3 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

Conservationists are ringing the alarm about the fungi facing extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List features vulnerable pandas and endangered tortoises, but it also highlights more than 400 fungi species that are under threat. Gregory Mueller, chief scientist emeritus at the Chicago Botanic Garden and coordinator of fungal conservation programs at the IUCN, and Anders Dahlberg, a professor of mycology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, explain the critical role fungi play in our environment and ways we can protect these threatened species. Recommended reading: Mysterious ‘Dark Fungi’ Are Lurking Everywhere For fans of The Last of Us, our 2023 podcast on real zombifying fungi E-mail us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new every day: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for Today in Science, our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted by Rachel Feltman. Our show is edited by Alex Sugiura with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	With influences selling us crap all over the place and facts, feeling so slippery, you need the podcast Science Verses.
0:09.0	This season, we're tackling ADHD, fluoride, bird flu, and even squirting.
0:14.0	It feels different when I pee and it feels different when I squirt.
0:17.6	If I were pregnant, I would avoid drinking fluoridated water.
0:21.4	We've done our homework, and this is the season you need to be listening to.
0:25.7	New Science Verses is out now. That's Science VS.
0:32.8	For Scientific American Science Quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
0:54.0	Even if you don't know what the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List is off the top of your head,
1:00.2	I can pretty much guarantee you've heard of it.
1:03.0	The IUCN keeps tabs on the conservation status of living organisms all over the globe.
1:08.8	Giant pandas are listed as vulnerable on the red list. The Asian giant tortoise
1:13.4	is marked as critically endangered, and lots of other charismatic megafauna have gotten not so honorable
1:19.2	mentions too. But the IUCN recently sounded the conservation alarm for some creatures many of us
1:26.0	spend a lot less time thinking about.
1:28.6	Fungi.
1:29.9	In March, the IUCN announced that its experts had assessed 482 fungi species for the first time,
1:36.2	bringing the redless fungal members up to 1,300.
1:39.5	Around a third of those species are at risk of extinction.
1:43.3	Most folks don't care much about mushrooms or
1:45.4	molds, which the IUCN says is a big problem. Today's guests will help us understand why.
1:51.7	I'm joined by Gregory Mueller, Chief Scientist Emeritus at the Chicago Botanic Garden and
1:56.8	coordinator of fungal conservation programs for the IUCN, and Anders Dahlberg, a professor of mycology
	...

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