Genevieve M. Gates is an Australian mycologist, ecologist, and taxonomist who is particularly focused on the fungal diversity of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Work and encouragement of citizen science

Gates started to publish articles on the macrofungi of Tasmania in 2002 with her long-time collaborator David Ratkowsky, and finished her PhD in 2009. In 2014 Gates and Ratkowsky then went on to publish ''A Field Guide to Tasmanian Fungi,'' which at the time was the only in-print work on fungi of the island, and was also a co-author in the laminated field booklet ''FungiFlip: A pictorial guide to Tasmanian fungi''. She is an honorary associate at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, and volunteers at the Herbarium of the

Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

. Gates is also called upon to provide advice to medical professionals, when a patient is suspected of ingesting poisonous fungi. In her efforts to encourage greater public interest in fungi, Gates established and was involved in the management of multiple special interest

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

groups. These included creating the Tasmanian Fungi Facebook page in 2014, and the Field Naturalists of Tasmania Facebook page in 2015. Gates also regularly leads excursions to look for fungi, aimed at interested amateurs, and gives lectures and talks.

Botanical legacy

Gates has named over 70 species of fungi, including: *'' Entoloma albidocoeruleum'' G.M.Gates & Noordel. *'' Entoloma asprellopsis'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma austroprunicolor'' G.M.Gates & Noordel. *'' Entoloma cystidiosum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma griseosquamulosum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *''

Entoloma mathinnae ''Entoloma mathinnae'' is a species of agaric fungus in the family Entolomataceae. Known only from Tasmania, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2009. Mushrooms have light yellow-brown, convex caps up to wide atop stems measurin ...

'' G.M.Gates, B.M.Horton & Noordel. *'' Entoloma melanophtalmum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma natalis-domini'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma psilocyboides'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma strigosum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma tenuicystidiatum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma totialbum'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma transmutans'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. *'' Entoloma violascens'' G.M.Gates and Noordel. She also collected the type specimen of '' Thaxterogaster austrovaginatus''. The specimens collected by Gates in Tasmania are held in herbarium collections around the world.This includes over 2,000 specimens held by the Tasmanian Herbarium, over 4,000 specimens held by the National Herbarium of Victoria,

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanical garden, botanic gardens across two sites–Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne and Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land was rese ...

. Outside of Australia, a smaller number are held by the Tartu University Herbarium, and elsewhere.

Honours, and awards

The species ''Lactarius genevieveae'' D. Stubbe & Verbeken (now ''Lactifluus genevieveae''), and ''Allotrechispora gatesiae'' L.W. Zhou, S.L. Liu & T.W. May were named in her honour. After joining the Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club in the 1990s, and in recognition of many years of continuous service to the organisation, Gates was subsequently awarded a lifetime membership to the club in March 2021. Gates was also awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion by the

Field Naturalists Club of Victoria The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) is an Australian natural history and conservation organisation. It was founded in May 1880 by a group of nature enthusiasts that included Thomas Pennington Lucas. Sophie C. Ducker,Lucas, Arthur Henr ...

in 2022. In 2023, she was inducted into the

Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women The State Government of Tasmania in Australia established the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005 to recognise Tasmanian women who have been distinguished in their contributions to the State. In 2021 Martine Delaney Martine Delaney (born 15 Oct ...

for service to education and training, the environment, and science and research.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gates, Genevieve 1952 births 21st-century Australian botanists Australian mycologists Australian women botanists People from Tasmania Academic staff of the University of Tasmania Living people Australian taxonomists University of Tasmania alumni