María Prieto

The genus Catapyrenium s. lat. ( Verrucariaceae ) in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

A taxonomic treatment of the genera included in Catapyrenium s. lat. in the Iberian PeninsulaandtheBalearicIslandsisprovided,basedonstudyof c.2000specimensfrombothherbaria and fresh material collected by the authors from 2005 to 2009 in numerous localities. A total of 33 species belonging to six of the eight genera included in Catapyrenium s. lat. are present in the region, which correspond to c. 80% of species from Europe. The genera are Anthracocarpon Breuss, Catapy- reniumFlot. (Catapyreniums. str.), HeteroplacidiumBreuss, InvolucropyreniumBreuss, Neocatapyrenium H. Harada and Placidium A. Massal. The genus Neocatapyrenium is reported for the first time from this region. Clavascidium liratum, the only representative of the genus Clavascidium in the region, has been reduced to synonymy with Anthracocarpon virescens. Heteroplacidium acervatum, H. congestum and Neocatapyrenium cladonioideum are new to Europe. Involucropyrenium pusillum, only previously known from Austria, I. waltheri, an arctic-alpine species, and Neocatapyrenium latzelii, known from Croatia and Greece, are cited for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula. Placidium subrufescens and P. tenellum, two mainly Mediterranean species, are also new records from the Iberian Peninsula. Placidium boccanum is here for the first time cited in Spain, and Anthracocarpon virescens, Heteroplacidium contumescens, Placidium imbecillum and P. michelii are new to Portugal. Most of the remaining species showed a considerable expansion of their known ranges. Placidium pyrenaicum is reduced to synonymy with P. velebiticum. Keys to genera and species occurring in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands are presented.

Case study of the implications of climate change for lichen diversity and distributions

There is ample evidence for species distributional changes in response to recent climate change, but most studies are biased toward better known taxa. Thus, an integrated approach is needed that includes the “cryptic diversity” represented partly by lichens, which are among the most sensitive organisms to environmental change due to their physiological characteristics. The use of functional traits and ecological attributes may improve the interpretation of how species respond to climate change. Thus, we quantified the future climate change impacts on 41 lichen species distributed in the Iberian Peninsula using ensemble climatic suitability maps (derived from generalized linear and generalized additive models, and classification and regression tree analysis) and different metrics. We also determined the lichen traits/attributes that might be related to a shared response to climate change. The results indicated a loss of bioclimatic space for 75% of the species studied and an increase for 10 species, especially in Mediterranean ones. Most of the species that will lose more than 70% of their current modeled distribution area comprised big macrolichens with cyanobacteria as the photobiont, thereby indicating a great biomass loss in forests, which might affect nutrient cycles. We also found that the predicted distributions were trait-related. Smaller species, green-algae lichens, and saxicolous and epiphyte species will respond better to future climate change. The results of this type of study may help to identify the species that are most vulnerable to climate change and facilitate the development of conservation measures to avoid their decline.

Diversidad liquénica de las islas Chafarinas, España

Se presentan los resultados floristicos sobre el estudio de los liquenes que habitan en el archipielago de las islas Chafarinas. En total, se han identificado 92 especies pertenecientes a 36 generos. De ellas, 15 son epifitas, 27 estan ligadas a superficies calcareas y 54 especies viven sobre andesitas y/o basaltos. Los afloramientos calcareos son colonizados por especies nitrofilas, debido al impacto humano y a la nitrificacion procedente de los depositos de guano. La diversidad de liquenes epifitos es muy reducida, debido al caracter residual de los forofitos. La composicion de las comunidades silicicolas varian en funcion del habitat que ocupen y de la situacion, altitud y topografia de los acantilados. La isla Congreso alberga la mayor riqueza de especies (79 especies), mientras que en las islas Isabel II y Rey se han contabilizado 58 y 46 especies respectivamente. Ademas, se destaca la importancia de algunos enclaves del archipielago por albergar una mayor riqueza y diversidad, la presencia de un mayor numero de especies anitrofilas y de especies con un area de distribucion mas restringida a nivel mundial.

Phylogenetic and functional structure of lichen communities under contrasting environmental conditions

Question In order to identify the factors and assembly rules which potentially shape natural lichen communities we asked whether these communities are phylogenetically and functionally structured along an environmental gradient in beech forests in the Iberian Peninsula. Location: Epiphytic lichen communities in Fagus sylvatica forests along a climatic gradient in the Iberian Peninsula. Methods We used species inventories, trait data, and a molecular dated phylogeny to calculate phylogenetic and functional community metrics. We examined the phylogenetic and functional diversity of epiphytic lichen assemblages in nine beech forests along an environmental gradient in the Iberian Peninsula. Results We found a significant pattern in the average phylogenetic and functional diversity across sites. Species at northern sites were less closely related than expected by chance (phylogenetic and functional overdispersion), suggesting that these communities could be structured by species interactions limiting the similarity among them (e.g. by competition and facilitation). In contrast, species occurring in the southern distributional limit of the host tree were phylogenetically and functionally clustered, implying that these communities could be primarily structured by environmental filtering, driven by the reduction of summer rainfall. Lower precipitation areas favored fruticulose and squamulose species and a bigger proportion of species with green algal photobionts and asexual reproduction. Conclusions Our results suggest that environmental filtering and species interactions regulate lichen communities differently under contrasting environmental conditions in beech forests in the Iberian Peninsula. These processes are reflected by the presence of key lichen traits which are phylogenetically conserved and can provide advantages for competition or adaptation to the environment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic assessment of Chromocyphellaceae (Agaricineae, Basidiomycota) and a new lamellate species of Chromocyphella

ABSTRACT Cyphelloid fungi represent a polyphyletic assemblage of reduced agarics, including the brown-spored family Chromocyphellaceae. In order to elucidate the phylogenetic position of Chromocyphellaceae, newly generated sequences of Chromocyphella were included in a multigene alignment of the Agaricineae and phylogenetically analyzed. The current analyses show that the Chromocyphella muscicola specimen used to phylogenetically place Chromocyphellaceae in its original description was misidentified and that the Chromocyphellaceae nests in the Hymenogastraceae, Chromocyphella being sister to Flammula. Chromocyphella is emended, including now a new species with lamellate and stipitate basidiomata, C. lamellata. The name Cymbella crouanii, type species of Chromocyphella, is lecto- and epitypified. Our analyses support a new origin of cyphelloid fungi. The shift to a cyphelloid basidioma from an agaric ancestor is suggested to have occurred in two evolutionary steps in Chromocyphella, an initial reduction in basidioma size and a subsequent loss of lamellae and stipe.