Dr. Carlos A. Aguilar-Trigueros
Research Group Leader
Functional Ecology Lab
University of Jyväskylä
Transforming fungal ecology, one trait at at time!
Welcome to our lab!​
We take a highly integrative and interdisciplinary approach to advance our understanding of fungal ecology. We develop new conceptual frameworks and empirical tools to identify the key traits that drive the functional diversity of fungi.
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Currently, our two main research projects focus on
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1. Dispersal of spore traits
Uncovering how spore traits predict the survival and dispersal strategies of plant-pathogenic and mycorrhizal fungi.
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2. Carbon cycling
Exploring how mycelial network traits determine the role of saprotrophic fungi in carbon cycling.
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We are based at the beautiful University of Jyväskylä, right in the center of the Lake Region of Finland, surrounded by inspiring boreal landscapes!
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Interested in joining us to help with this exciting research? Send me a message!
Aguilar-Trigueros, C. A., Ovaskainen, O., Abrego N. (2025) Urbanization alters fungal composition in boreal ecosystem by favouring large-spore fungi pathogenic fungi. Functional Ecology (accepted, forthcoming).
Aguilar-Trigueros, C.A.,Boddy L., Fricker, M. D. (2025) Testing the extreme plastic mycelium hypothesis: Does grazing induce developmental plasticity in saprotrophic fungi? bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.14.632904
Frew, A., Zheng, Y., Wang, Z., Fu, Y., Aguilar-Trigueros, C. A. (2025) Causal determinism by plant host identity in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community assembly. Functional Ecology 39(2): 390–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14715
Projects
Soil carbon cycling - Mycelial network traits
Carbon cycling depends on the growth of saprotrophic fungi in soils. Growth occurs as a network of filaments, which are collectively known as mycelia. Until recently, the traits of this network were a black box. Using protocols we developed, we are now linking how variation in mycelial networks traits determines the impact of fungal diversity on carbon cycling.
Photo courtesy of Mark Unger
Dispersal: Spore traits
Dispersal is a key part of the lifecycle for all organisms - particularly for fungi that depend on colonizing plants, since their host does not move. This important function relies on the production of spores. Allocating the resources to these spores determines the survival during dispersal. Thus in this project we are measuring the variation in spore morphology across and within mycorrhizal fungi and plant pathogens to reveal how these fungi survive this critical but poorly understood phase of their lifecycle.