Francisco Calaça- Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences
- Professor at Secretaria de Estado da Educação de Goiás
Francisco Calaça
- Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences
- Professor at Secretaria de Estado da Educação de Goiás
Mycologist (Dung Fungi Researcher). Ecology of Ecosystems. Science Communicator at Mykocosmos.
Postdoctoral researcher.
About
72
Publications
84,251
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Introduction
I’m a dung fungi mycologist interested in research on the ecology, taxonomy, and biology of dung-inhabiting fungi and myxomycetes, with a focus on understanding the role of these fungi (and like-fungi microorganisms) in ecosystem functioning. I’m a scientific communicator who spreads mycological science to the public, through the Mykocosmos Project, on social media, and through activities aimed at promoting science outreach. Visit the project website at: https://www.mykocosmos.com/
Current institution
Secretaria de Estado da Educação de Goiás
Current position
- Professor
Additional affiliations
June 2018 - present
January 2015 - December 2015
ICTQ - Instituto de Ciência, Tecnologia e Qualidade
Position
- Analista Acadêmico
Education
January 2018 - May 2022
March 2016 - January 2018
February 2010 - June 2013
Publications
Publications (72)
A review of the literature published between 1919 (the earliest known record) and 2013 has made it possible to confirm the occurrence of 209 species of coprophilous fungi (sensu lato) in Brazil, which are distributed in 259 records in 12 states of the Federation, with Pernambuco
being the State most represented. The phylum most found was Ascomycota...
Dung serves as a critical resource for diverse organisms, including dung-inhabiting fungi, which play a key role in nutrient cycling. In this study, we examined the decomposition rates and half-lives of dung from ruminant and monogastric herbivores in a microcosm experiment, assessing the impact of autoclaving (fungal exclusion) on decomposition dy...
With the simultaneous growth in interest from the mycological community to discover fungal species and classify them, there is also an important need to assemble all taxonomic information onto common platforms. Fungal classification is facing a rapidly evolving landscape and organizing genera into an appropriate taxonomic hierarchy is central to be...
The xylariaceous fungi are among the most diverse group of fungi found on the Tropics, some genera reaching over 100 known species and colonizing different hosts and substrates. Although most of them are saprobes, some species present pathogenic behaviour, causing from root rot to canker. The present study brings the first report of Biscogniauxia c...
One of the school's roles is to introduce students to academic knowledge and teach them about science, relating this science to their reality. In this article, we highlight and defend the view that science teaching should promote the process of scientific literacy among students. In this context, Inquiry-Based Science Teaching (EnCI, in Portuguese)...
The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are invisible to the unaided eye, but they represent a major component of biodiversity on our planet, and play essential ecological roles, supporting life as we know it. Although approximately 20 000 fungal gener...
The global diversity of fungi has been estimated between 2 to 11 million species, of which only about 155 000 have been named. Most fungi are
invisible to the unaided eye, but they represent a major component of biodiversity on our planet, and play essential ecological roles, supporting life as we
know it. Although approximately 20 000 fungal gener...
Scientific literacy is a fundamental strategy in the human social construct and comprises an essential tool in forming citizens who understand Science as a driver of the development of our society. The use of different teaching strategies can not only promote but also improve the scientific literacy process by including and considering different ap...
The natural occurrence of the fungus Beauveria bassiana is an indicator of environmental balance. When the agroforestry system naturally presents this entomopathogenic fungus on the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus, a pest insect in the banana crops, it reinforces the beneficial effects of this agroecosystem. Thus, this work reports the first na...
Dentre as diversas agriculturas ecológicas, os sistemas agroflorestais (SAF´s) se apresentam como promissores enquanto alternativa para a produção de alimentos através de práticas que participam dos processos naturais, conservando os solos e recuperando sua fertilidade. Foram utilizados dados de análise química e de textura de solos (0 a 20cm de pr...
The Global Consortium for the Classification of Fungi and fungus-like taxa is an international initiative of more than 550 mycologists to develop an electronic structure for the classification of these organisms. The members of the Consortium originate from 55 countries/regions worldwide, from a wide range of disciplines, and include senior, mid-ca...
Due to the appearance of isolated resistant cases of Candida spp. to known antifungal drugs, there is a demand and concern in finding and testing new substances for the treatment of candidiasis. This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory potential of the fungus Geastrum saccatum (Basidiomycota: Geastraceae) over some Candida (Ascomycota: Debaryomy...
O Cerrado, abrangendo aproximadamente 24% do território brasileiro, estende-se por uma vasta área com cerca de 2 milhões de km². Este bioma notável abriga inúmeras espécies de fauna e flora, algumas das quais não são encontradas em nenhum outro lugar do planeta. Com uma grande variedade de ecossistemas, desde campos abertos até formações florestais...
In January 2023, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) created a new specialist group to focus on the conservation of Brazilian fungi: the IUCN SSC Brazil Fungal Specialist Group (iucnbrazfun.com, @iucnfungibrazil and iucnssc_fungibrazil). As a megadiverse country with key biodiversity hotspots, Brazil and its fauna, flora and funga face numer...
Sphaerobolus (Geastrales: Sphaerobolaceae) is an interesting fungal genus known as artillery fungus due to its strategy to eject its mature peridiole, involving an osmotically powered eversion catapult mechanism. The peridiole can reach up to six meters towards light. Members of this genus are known to have a coprophilous or fimicolous habit in the...
We have never been as dependent on technology as we are now, a period in which we spent at least two pandemic years fully immersed in the technological reality, which was the solution to keeping in touch with each other. As a result, we understand how people communicate has undergone profound changes in recent years, becoming increasingly technolog...
Beyond the impact on aboveground biodiversity, the conversion of native vegetation for conventional agricultural and livestock production is associated with risks of soil degradation and biodiversity loss. While the input-intensive production models with the use of pesticides and fertilizers have paved the way for food production in areas hitherto...
Dung-inhabiting fungi are specialized to grow on dung. The coprophilous habit required these fungi to have physiological adaptations to survive on dung, so they developed a variety of metabolites to exploit the resource and tolerate intra and interspecific competition. These fungi are important cyclers of matter/energy in terrestrial ecosystems, bu...
Videos are audiovisual resources with broad social accessand commonly utilized in Science Teaching with several functionalities andin the last decade havebeenproduced to specific thematic exposition. The myxomycetes, a group of ameboid protists able to express various biological phenomenaand facilitate environmental concepts understanding, are amon...
Dung-inhabiting fungi play a key role in ecosystems by acting on decomposing dung and cycling non-absorbed nutrients during the digestion process. Due to the scarcity of studies focused on ecological aspects of dung fungi, little is known about how the type of diet and type of animal's digestive system determine the substrate type, modulate and str...
Brazil hosts a great fungal diversity, but little is known about its conservation. The basics for a policy of including fungi in Brazil's conservation agenda still do not exist, given that recently threatened species published on the global red list, have not yet been recognized in a National Red List or in Brazilian government conservation and bio...
Here I present what is and the importance of dung-inhabiting fungi lato sensu, showing how these fungi are responsible for dung matter and egested energy in ecosystems. I also present some recent data on studies of dung-inhabiting fungi from Brazil, highlighting the increase in interest in these ecological fungi group in Brazil in the last 10 years...
We report the first occurrence of the genus Gyrodontium Pat. from the Brazilian Cerrado based on our finding of G. sacchari (Spreng.) Hjortstam. This also represents the first record of the family Coniophoraceae from the Midwest Region of central Brazil. We identified the sample by morphological and phylogenetic analyses (ITS gene), and a voucher w...
Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Argentina , Colletotrichum araujiae on leaves, stems and fruits of Araujia hortorum . Australia , Agaricus pateritonsus on soil, Curvularia fraserae on dying leaf of Bothriochloa insculpta , Curvularia millisiae from yellowing leaf tips of Cyperus aromat...
Until recently, no native mushroom was considered food in the Cerrado biome, while there are records of the occurrence of about 638 species of fungi so far, many of which have numerous undefined potentials, with the potential for food among them. Our work presents the nutritional aspects of two mushroom species found in an agroforestry system in th...
Panaeolus sylvaticus is a saprotrophic, non-coprophilous, mushroom described in 2019 from material collected at two sites in western Paraná State, Southern Brazil. It was reported growing in decaying plant debris in seasonal semi-deciduous forest remnants. Although surveys of funga in southern Brazil, especially for Agaricales, have been intensivel...
We define copromycodiversity as all the morphological, physiological, functional, and ecological diversity of an assemblage of dung-inhabiting fungi, also known as coprophilous fungi. These fungi are represented by species of the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota in the sensu stricto of the Kingdom. Traditionally, other groups of or...
The Brazilian Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot characterized by a mosaic of
phytophysiognomies and soil types. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important components of biodiversity, participating in symbiotic relationships
with plants and involved in ecosystem functioning. Variations in the AMF
communities in Cerrado phytophysiognomies are n...
The phylum Basidiomycota represents one of the most diverse groups of fungi. In this phylum, the order Agaricales has great ecological and economic value. However, this order is little studied in Brazil. Thus, in an attempt to contribute to the scientific knowledge about this taxon, in this study we evaluated trends and gaps in scientific productio...
This conference poster highlight recent contributions to the knowledge of the coprophilous genus Poronia (Xylariaceae: Ascomycota) to Brazil, with new records and additions to its geographical extent for some species.
History records several expeditions motivated by the search for territories, food, natural resources, and even humans. These expeditions aroused the interest in nature and science in enthusiasts who set out on journeys to distant lands where they described their peoples and their habits, landscapes, species, and made collections of biological mater...
Societal Impact Statement
Mycorrhizal associations are acknowledged as key components of global ecosystem functioning. This is especially relevant in the context of global change, since they contribute to the amelioration of adverse soil conditions and play crucial roles in agriculture. Generally speaking, the lay public is uninformed on the import...
Recentemente propusemos o termo copromicodiversidade para definir o conjunto de fungos (lato sensu) que estão associados, em alguma etapa do ciclo de vida, às fezes animais, sobretudo de herbívoros, incluindo sua diversidade taxonômica, ecológica e fisiológica. Esses organismos desempenham papéis-chave nos ecossistemas terrestres, onde estão envolv...
Fungi are important in several aspects of human life. In particular, to agriculture, pathogenic fungi are of great importance, as they are responsible for production losses of the most diverse types. Because of this, knowledge about pathogenic fungus is of extreme importance for farmers and professionals working in agricultural areas. Among farmers...
Fimicolous organisms are those that can grow on dung. These substrates offer conditions that favour colonization by microorganisms, such as high nutrient and moisture content and an alkaline-neutral pH that is especially advantageous in arid/desertic regions. There are about 250 species of myxomycetes known from Brazil, which are distributed in all...
In 2014 we published the first checklist of fungi sensu lato recorded on dung from Brazil, as a result of an effort to maintain an easily accessible database on the knowledge of the diversity of these fungi. In the last 10 years there has been a significant increase in the number of publications involving this ecological group, and we are presentin...
Mycotaxon is pleased to add a new annotated species distribution list to our 142 previously posted free access fungae. The 22-page "Additions to a checklist of coprophilous fungi and other fungi recorded on dung from Brazil: an overview of a century of research" by Francisco J. Simões Calaça, Vanessa Basilio Tereza, and Solange Xavier-Santos may be...
The Amazon region has shown commercial potential for native mushroom species, such as mushrooms produced by the Yanomami people, who already sell more than 10 Amazon species. Among the species collected and consumed by the Yanomami people is Favolus brasiliensis (Fr.) Fr. (Basidiomycota: Polyporaceae), which occurs naturally in tropical areas of Ce...
Myxomycetes (Amoebozoa) can be found on a wide range of substrates and
among these, the dung of several animal species, primarily herbivorous, in
which case they are considered fimicolous. Dung can be a favourable substrate
for myxomycete due its relatively high content of water, nutrients and
microorganisms. Despite efforts to study fimicolous myx...
In the survey of copromycodiversity from Brazil, we present the first records of the genus Agrocybe for the Cerrado biome, represented by the species A. pediades, found on cattle dung in the state of Goiás, central Brazil. We also present detailed morphological descriptions, illustrations, and comments about its distribution and the fimicolous habi...
Apresento uma análise do livro Corpo: um guia para usuários, do autor americano Bill Bryson, discutindo seus aspectos e potenciais na Divulgação Científica e para o Ensino de Ciências, principalmente nos objetos de conhecimentos relacionados aos Sistemas do Corpo Humano, saúde e história da medicina, bem como os docentes podem utilizar o livro como...
The Amazon region has shown commercial potential for native mushroom species, such as mushrooms produced by the Yanomami people, who already sell more than 10 Amazon species. Among the species collected and consumed by the Yanomami people is Favolus brasiliensis (Fr.) Fr. (Basidiomycota: Polyporaceae), which occurs naturally in tropical areas of Ce...
The genus Chaetomium is a member of Chaetomiaceae (Sordariomycetes: Sordariales) with saprobic or parasitic species, growing on plant debris, dung, soil, and other substrates. We briefly described advances and status of Chaetomium on dung in recent years, based on both morphological and molecular characters. It is highlighted that the tipping point...
Scientific popularization publication on coprophilous fungi based on research conducted in Cerrado areas in Central Brazil.
Much of the diversity of mushrooms is still unknown to science. In the search for new edible mushrooms, we began to look at the traditions of Amazonian forest peoples in order to learn about the potential for edible mushrooms among other species. In particular, the Yanomami people launched the encyclopedia of food (Sanoma) in 2016 to preserve their...
The ways people get access to information are constantly in transition. With the Internet, a new world of possibilities was created, so the initial function of cellphones is, yet, to
make/receive calls? Do scientists publicize to other scientists or to all people?
In Brazil, we have good examples of divulgators. We need to turn ‘science makers’ int...
Book Review: Elizabeth Kolbert. A Sexta Extinção: Uma história não natural (Rio de Janeiro: Intrinseca, 2015).
The Brazilian Cerrado is a highly diverse ecosystem, harboring a great variety of organisms; however, the mycodiversity is still poorly documented. In this study, we record for the first time the bolete Phlebopus beniensis from the Cerrado biome in the state of Goiás, located in Brazil's Central-West Region. Description, macroscopic images, line dr...
The Brazilian Cerrado is characterized as a hotspot to biodiversity conservation and there are the necessity of studies to management and protection, given the rapid conversion of habitats and their configuration as mosaic of different plant formations. Studies on Cerrado’s biodiverstiy has focused mainly on macrorganisms, despite the importance of...
p>Buscamos discutir o status ecológico das comunidades de fungos coprófilos lato sensu, apresentando pontos chave para a formulação de hipóteses e futuros estudos que visem entender os fatores ecológicos que modulam a escolha da vida coprófila por estes fungos. Apresentamos um novo termo (copromicodiversidade), que melhor designa a amplitude do gru...
This study presents the first records from three genera Hypocopra, Pyxidiophora, Zopfiella and the second of the rare species, Cercophora coronata (Cailleux) Udagawa and T. Muroi, for Brazil. It also presents the first record of H. stercoraria (Sowerby) Sacc., P. arvernensis (Breton and Faurel) N. Lundq. and Z. latipes (N. Lundq.) Malloch and Cain...
Resumo Physarum notabile (Physaraceae, Physarales) tem sua primeira ocorrência registrada para a Região Centro-Oeste brasileira, desenvolvendo-se sobre troncos vivos de pomar em uma área urbana da cidade de Anápolis, Goiás. A caracterização da espécie e sua distribuição são apresentadas. Abstract The myxomycete Physarum notabile (Physaraceae, Physa...
This study presents a new variety of Delitschia gigaspora, called pescanii, that was obtained in moist chamber cultures of cow dung collected in the Parque Estadual da Serra de Caldas Novas (PESCAN), a conservation unit of the Cerrado bioma (Brazilian Savanna) in the State of Goiás, Brazil. The study also brings the first record of the genus Delits...
Fungos coprófilos constituem um grupo de organismos encontrados entre os Eumicetos (nos filos Mucoromycota, Ascomycota e Basidiomycota), mas também entre pseudofungos (entre os Myxomycetes, Oomycetes e Myxobacteria), que apresentam adaptações ecológicas variadas, de modo que seus esporos são ingeridos por animais, sobrevivem à passagem pelo trato d...
Fezes de herbívoros compõem um rico hábitat para o desenvolvimento de organismos coprófi los, em especial os fungos, cujas adaptações ecológicas para o reaproveitamento de nutrientes não absorvidos pelo animal durante a digestão os permitem crescer sobre estetipo de substrato para completar seu ciclo de vida. Estes fungos estão distribuídos entre o...
Neocosmospora vasinfecta (Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Nectriaceae) was found on feces of brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) collected in the Zoo Foundation of Brasília, Brasília, Federal District (DF), Brazil, after the feces were maintained in moist chambers. This is the first report to observe the fungus from feces of brocket deer and also the first...
Dotados de adaptações ecológicas que permitem seu desenvolvimento sobre material fecal, os fungos coprófilos apresentam grande importância ecológica na manutenção do ciclo de nutrientes. Visando verificar a ocorrência e diversidade desses organismos, amostras de fezes de diferentes espécies animais foram coletadas entre 2010 e 2012, em áreas urbana...
Convolvulaceae é uma família de plantas vasculares predominantemente herbáceas, que ocorre no Cerrado brasileiro. As folhas destas plantas são inteiras ou partidas, dispostas alternadamente, seu caule é escandente, substituindo as gavinhas. A espécie Operculina macrocarpa (L.) Urb. apresenta folhas partidas, pilosas, com margem ondulada, nervuras p...
O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma oficina dinâmica com estudantes do Ensino Médio de um colégio da rede pública de ensino, localizado na cidade de Anápolis, Goiás, de forma a avaliar a percepção da sexualidade humana segundo a opinião dos jovens na presente faixa etária, desenvolvendo um pensamento reflexivo e instrutivo acerca do tema. As...
Os fungos coprófilos constituem um importante fator na renovação dos nutrientes encontrados em fezes de animais, principalmente herbívoros. Tais espécies têm seus esporos ingeridos pelos animais durante o pastoreio e são capazes de resistir às condições do trato digestivo animal e então germinar e crescer sobre as fezes. Este trabalho teve como obj...
Questions
Questions (12)
Hi there! I am interested in understanding (or making myself more confused, whatever) the evolutionary pathways of coprophilic habit in dung-inhabiting fungi. Taking into account the dung of herbivore animals as a substrate to dung fungi growth, we have few "candidates" to be dung-producers with some requirements to early dung fungi (e.g. the amphibians Ichthyostega (I don't know if it was an herbivore or omnivorous, appearing about ca. 375 million y/a in Devonian, once the first tetrapod herbivores made their first appearance in the fossil record near the Permio-Carboniferous boundary, ca. 300 million y/a.). Terrestrial plants made their first appearance ca. 450 million y/a, with a well-accepted role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in this process. So, my question is about if there is some study dealing with the evolutive process of dung-inhabiting fungi, presenting some consideration where and how, in the evolutive process, this ecologic habit firstly appears? Any considerations are welcome! Thank you!
If you want to help me with this question with more details (or more questions ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) or papers/books, feel free to also send me an email at: calacafjs@gmail.com.
