Intrepid Estonians' fungi findings |20 March 2006

Triin Suvi and Leho Tedersoo spent three weeks carrying out primary research into the diversity of fungi present in Seychelles in order to make a global comparison of fungi range.

Working with the support of the NGO Plant Conservation Action Group, they did extensive research on a number of islands.

Having finished their work in Seychelles, which Mr Tedersoo described as, "one link in the chain," the two PhD students will now undertake a comparison of their findings with those from other countries, notably northern Europe and their home country Estonia.

Mr Tedersoo said that they had been surprised to find that the diversity of fungi in Seychelles appears to be lower than that in Europe, and said that this could be explained by the small size of Seychelles' islands, their distance from other land masses and the relatively rare nature of the tree species which support the studied fungi.

Once their research is complete and papers written, the researchers will return their findings to Seychelles, which Mr Tedersoo said would, "give local forestry and environment people some idea of fungi present and help create a new dimension in the fungal world."

However, work on the data will likely not be finished until next year and they expect to take another year to work on publishing their findings, meaning that the findings they produce are still some way off.