Dr. Robert Antibus, professor emeritus of biology, will present the Colloquium, "Mushrooms as a Window to Biodiversity at the Kitty Todd Preserve," on Friday, Oct. 13. During the presentation, Antibus will discuss the major findings of a three-year study he has conducted on the mushrooms of the Kitty Todd Prairie in Swanton, Ohio.

Antibus says biologists consider fungi to represent the second most species-diverse group of organisms on Earth; however, they have not yet been studied in the oak openings region of Northwest Ohio. 

The oak openings ecosystem is a unique, species-diverse forest dominated by scattered oaks. Vast reductions in the area of this ecosystem led to concern for the unique plant and animal species found there and prompted conservation and reforestation efforts managed by The Nature Conservancy, a worldwide conservation organization.

His presentation is free and open to the public beginning at 4 p.m. in Centennial Hall’s Stutzman Lecture Hall.