Introducing Mushroom Fruiting Patterns from the Swiss National Poisons Information Centre

PLoS One. 2016 Sep 20;11(9):e0162314. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162314. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Changes in the ecology of macrofungi are poorly understood, not only because much of their life cycle is hidden belowground, but also because experiments often miss real-world complexity and most fruitbody inventories are limited in space and time. The National Poisons Information Centre 'Tox Info Suisse' provides countrywide 24hours/7days medical advice in case of poisonings since 1966. Here, we introduce a total of 12,126 mushroom-related phone calls that were received by Tox Info Suisse between 1966 and 2014. This indirect source of mycological information is dominated by the families of Boletaceae (11%), Agaricaceae (10%) and Amanitaceae (8%), which account for ~30% of all cases. Mushroom fruiting patterns revealed by the Poisons Centre inventory statistically resemble changes in fungal phenology, productivity and diversity as reflected by the Swiss National Data Centre 'SwissFungi'. Although the newly developed Tox Info Suisse dataset provides an innovative basis for timely environmental research, caution is advised when interpreting some of the observed long-term changes and autumnal extremes. Uncertainty of the new record relates to possible data incompleteness, imprecise species description and/or identification, as well as the inclusion of cultivated and non-indigenous mushrooms. Nevertheless, we hope that the Tox Info Suisse inventory will stimulate and enable a variety of ecological-oriented follow-up studies.

MeSH terms

  • Agaricales* / classification
  • Climate
  • Fruiting Bodies, Fungal* / classification
  • Humans
  • Information Centers
  • Mycotoxicosis / etiology*
  • Seasons
  • Species Specificity
  • Switzerland / epidemiology

Grants and funding

Funding was received from the WSL-internal DITREC project, the Ernst Göhner Foundation, as well as the Operational Programme of Education for Competitiveness of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic (No. CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0248).