David H. S. Richardson

CYANOLICHENS: THEIR RESPONSE TO POLLUTION AND POSSIBLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR THEIR CONSERVATION IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Abstract This short review focuses on lichens which have cyanobacteria as their main photosynthetic partner or in localized areas termed cephalodia. Research is cited to show that cyanolichens are very sensitive to gaseous air pollution, to acid rain, and to habitat disturbance. These lichens are worth conserving for their own sake but are also valuable for assessing the status of forests in areas like northeastern North America, where forests cover large tracts of land. The richness of the cyanolichen flora reflects biological diversity in the forests. Cyanolichens fix atmospheric nitrogen, are generally nutrient-rich, and have a diverse associated invertebrate fauna. These invertebrates provide food that sustain both resident and migrating birds. Management strategies that might be used to maintain and ensure the survival of the rich cyanolichen flora of the northeastern U.S. and Atlantic Provinces of Canada are presented and discussed.

War in the world of lichens: parasitism and symbiosis as exemplified by lichens and lichenicolous fungi

Lichens are typically formed by the association of two partners. The fungus (mycobiont) usually comprises most of the lichen, while the photosynthetic algal or cyanobacterial partner is referred to as the photobiont. Many lichens contain more than one photobiont and other associates, the lichenicolous fungi, may also be involved. The spectrum of interactions is fascinating and ranges from mutualism, through commensalism, to situations where one, or sometimes more, of the associates is doomed by the antagonistic activities of an invading fungus. Furthermore, these interactions are dynamic over time. Many mycologists assume that once a lichen ascospore has contacted a suitable photobiont, or once a dual propagule such as a soredium, isidium or lichen fragment has landed on an appropriate surface, a lichen thallus will develop. Accepted dogma is that the thallus will grow to form a mature lichen surviving for tens, if not hundreds or even thousands of years. These are over-simplifications; in fact there is war in the world of lichens. Following a brief consideration of parasitism and other forms of symbiosis, this war will be illustrated under the headings of algal slaves, exploiters of two kingdoms, alien invaders, cosy niche seekers and take-over specialists. It is hoped that this review will encourage mycologists to study these interactions which, as yet, remain largely unexplored.

The use of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for the analysis of plants, especially lichens, employed in biological monitoring

Abstract Several analytical techniques are available for the elemental analysis of plants such as lichens used in pollution monitoring studies. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of one technique, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, for determining the elemental content of lichen. The technique can be used for macro nutrients such as K and Ca and for trace metals such as Cu, Pb and Zn as well as for non-metals, especially S. Consideration is given to collection, preparation and analytical procedures for lichens using this analytical method. Data from studies using XRF are presented. Improvements are suggested with regard to sample preparation, and the limitations which prevent the method being more widely adopted are reviewed. The new generation of computer-assisted spectrometers have significantly lowered detection limits, so that background elemental levels in remote areas as well as enhanced levels near industrial activities can effectively be assayed in lichen or other plant samples.

Mercury levels in lichens from different host trees around a chlor-alkali plant in New Brunswick, Canada

Mercury concentrations were determined in the epiphytic lichen Hypogymnia physodes along five transects starting from a chlor-alkali plant located at Dalhousie, New Brunswick, a landfill site and a nearby electricity generating station. Lichen samples were collected from white birch (Betula papyrifera) and spruce (Picea sp.) or balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Average lichen background mercury values were 0.088+/-0.005 microg/g from white birch and 0.148+/-0.046 microg/g from spruce trees, with a detection limit of 0.05 microg/g. The chlor-alkali plant and a power plant were identified, respectively, as a major source and a minor source of elevated mercury levels in lichens. At 125 m north-west of the New Brunswick Power plant, 0.28 microg/g Hg were found in Hypogymnia physodes from spruce trees, while at 250 m west (downwind) of the chlor-alkali plant, 3.66 microg/g of mercury were determined. High values, 0.98 microg/g in lichens from spruce trees and 0.79 microg/g in lichen samples from white birch were also measured at 125 m south of the chlor-alkali plant and decreased exponentially with distance. The sphere of influence of the chlor-alkali plant with respect to mercury deposition was estimated to extend 2.4-3.4 km from the plant. The mercury concentrations in Hypogymnia physodes collected from white birch were significantly lower than the concentrations in the same lichen from spruce trees in areas with elevated levels of mercury, but not in areas with low mercury levels. The magnitude of this difference dropped with distance from the source.

The lichen flora of Sable Island, Nova Scotia: its past, present and likely future status

Abstract This paper reports the first detailed study of lichens on Sable Island since the pioneering study of John Macoun in 1899 who recorded 27 taxa in his publications. The present survey carried out in 2007, revealed that 39 macrolichens and 42 crusts now colonize sand, bone, lignum and cement substrata. The annotated checklist which includes current and former records contains 62 macrolichens and 46 crustose species plus seven lichen parasymbionts. Specimens have been deposited in the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax (nspm) and in the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa (canl). The changes in the lichen flora, and the possible reasons for them, that have occurred over the past 20 years and since the first survey in 1899, are discussed. Speculations on the future of the present lichen flora on Sable Island are also made.

Obituary: Wolfgang Siegfried Gunther Maass 1929–2016

With the passing of Wolfgang Maass, Nova Scotia, Canada, and indeed the entire world of lichenology has lost an important pioneer in the documentation of the lichen flora of northeastern North America and a researcher dedicated to understanding the complex nature of lichen chemistry.

A Field Key to Common Churchyard Lichens

PHILIPPE CLERC. Les champignons lichénisés de Suisse, catalogue bibliographique complété par des données sur la distribution et l’écologie des espèces. Cryptogamica Helvetica 19: 1–320. 2004. [ISSN 0257-9421]. Price: CHF 96, €64, not including postage and handling (soft cover). Available from: Library, Geobotanisches Institut ETH, Zollikerstraße 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland. Email: lilo.koenig@env.ethz.ch; fax: 141 632 14 63.

Symbiosis: Mechanisms and Model Systems

XAVIER LLIMONA, H. THORSTEN LUMBSCH, AND SIEGLINDE OTT (EDITORS). Progress and Problems in Lichenology at the Turn of the Millennium. Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology (IAL4) held at the Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain on 3–8. September 2000. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 82: 1–326. J. Cramer in der Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin and Stuttgart. 2002. [ISBN 3-443-58061-0; ISSN 1436–1698.] Price: €88 (soft cover). www.schweizerbart.de

Checklist of Lichen-Forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Eagle Hill and Its Vicinity, Maine

Abstract 600 lichens and 82 lichenicolous and allied fungi have been recorded from Eagle Hill in Steuben, ME, and its vicinity over the past 25 years, mainly as a consequence of courses and research centered upon the Eagle Hill Institute (formerly the Humboldt Field Research Institute). Of the 682 taxa listed, 331 have been recorded within the Institutes boundary, of which 27 were not found elsewhere in the vicinity; a further 66 taxa recorded but lacking voucher material are listed. One lichen, Lambiella fuscosora, and 7 lichenicolous fungi, Cornutispora pyramidalis, Epicladonia stenospora, Monodictys epilepraria, Muellerella polyspora, Taeniolella cladinicola, and Tremella coppinsii, are additional to the North American checklist; Lambiella fuscosora and Cornutispora pyramidalis are also recorded as new for Canada. Five lichens, Alyxoria ochrocheila, Cladonia albonigra, Ephebe solida, Myriolecis schofieldii, and Parmotrema stuppeum, are new for Maine. Notes on new records and interesting taxa are provided.

Peter E. Rosenbaum: Volpe’s understanding evolution

This is the seventh edition of a popular college text which is widely used for introductory level courses on evolution. This edition is comprised of eighteen chapters which cover everything from origin of life and molecular evolution to the history of life, adaptive radiation and speciation. The text is readable and at a level easily understood by beginning college students and so the book is likely to be recommended by many teachers. I was therefore disappointed to find symbiosis only dealt with on three pages of the book as part of a discussion or organelles and their evolution. Even that section is dated and could have been written soon after the publication of Lynn Margulis’s book ‘Origin of Eukaryotic Cells’ 40 years ago! It very disheartening that a book published in 2010 could ignore the very large body of available research information which discusses the role of symbiosis in evolution and speciation as well as books such as that by Seckbach (2002) which underline the import role of symbiosis in every world ecosystem. An inclusion of even a small part of this information would have made this book on evolution, not only much better, but much more interesting for the students.