A taxonomic reassessment of the genus Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota: Peltigeraceae) in the Hawaiian archipelago

The taxonomy of the genus Sticta in Hawaii is reassessed, based on a separately published molecular phylogeny using the fungal barcoding marker ITS. Based on Magnusson and Zahlbruckner's treatment from 1943 and Magnusson's catalogue from 1955, seven species of Sticta and three infraspecific taxa had been reported from the archipelago, all widespread except the putative endemic S. plumbicolor. Here we provide a taxonomic treatment of 13 taxa, 12 species and one subspecies, distinguished in a previous phylogenetic analysis: S. acyphellata, S. andina, S. antoniana, S. emmanueliana, S. flynnii, S. fuliginosa, S. hawaiiensis, S. limbata, S. plumbicolor, S. scabrosa subsp. hawaiiensis, S. smithii, S. tomentosa and S. waikamoi. All taxa are described, discussed and illustrated and a dichotomous key is presented. The implications of revised species taxonomies for studies in other fields such as ecology, ecophysiology, biogeography, biochemistry, and applications such as environmental monitoring are discussed. We also propose a protocol to use Sticta lichens to monitor the environmental health of Hawaiian ecosystems

Bosque de roble o plantación de coníferas, ¿qué prefieren los líquenes epífitos?

Quercus humboldtii is a dominant element in the high Andean forests of Boyacá, Colombia. Despite being an umbrella species, it has a per-capita consumption of 1300 Kg.year-1 and its natural stands are widely replaced with plantations of Pinus patula. This replacement affects the most sensitive epiphyte communities. To track these conditions, lichens were examined on four trees of each phorophytic species. Each tree was divided into five vertical levels and bark roughness and acidity, as well as humidity and luminosity were measured at each level for each tree. The data were analysed by means of diversity indexes, Anova, and multidimensional scaling. 161 lichen fungal species were recorded, 53 of these unique to pine trees and 45 unique to oak trees. Cladonia ceratophylla and Herpothallon rubrocinctum stand out as a frequent species shared between both phorophytes, whereas Astrothelium spp, Anzia leucobatoides y Leptogium diaphanum are exclusive to oaks. Luminosity and bark roughness are factors influencing lichen community formation.Quercus humboldtii es un elemento dominante en los bosques altoandinos de Boyacá, Colombia, el cual, a pesar de ser una especie sombrilla, registra consumos per-cápita de 1300 Kg.año-1 y el remplazo de sus rodales por plantaciones de Pinus patula. Este remplazo afecta las comunidades liquénicas más sensibles. Para rastrear dichas afecciones se examinaron los líquenes en cuatro árboles de cada especie forófita. Cada árbol fue dividido en cinco estratos verticales y se midió la rugosidad, humedad, acidez y luminosidad en cada estrato. Los análisis comprendieron índices de diversidad, tablas Anova y escalas multidimensionales. Se registraron 161 especies de líquenes, se reconocen 53 especies exclusivas sobre pino y 45 exclusivas de roble. Se destacan Cladonia ceratophylla y Herpothallon rubrocinctum como especies comunes entre forófitas, y la exclusividad de Astrothelium spp, Anzia leucobatoides y Leptogium diaphanum sobre los robles. La luminosidad y la rugosidad son factores de influencia en la distribución de los líquenes

Bosque de roble o plantación de coníferas, ¿qué prefieren los líquenes epífitos?

Quercus humboldtii es un elemento dominante en los bosques altoandinos de Boyacá, Colombia, el cual, a pesar de ser una especie sombrilla, registra consumos per-cápita de 1300 Kg.año-1 y el remplazo de sus rodales por plantaciones de Pinus patula. Este remplazo afecta las comunidades liquénicas más sensibles. Para rastrear dichas afecciones se examinaron los líquenes en cuatro árboles de cada especie forófita. Cada árbol fue dividido en cinco estratos verticales y se midió la rugosidad, humedad, acidez y luminosidad en cada estrato. Los análisis comprendieron índices de diversidad, tablas Anova y escalas multidimensionales. Se registraron 161 especies de líquenes, se reconocen 53 especies exclusivas sobre pino y 45 exclusivas de roble. Se destacan Cladonia ceratophylla y Herpothallon rubrocinctum como especies comunes entre forófitas, y la exclusividad de Astrothelium spp, Anzia leucobatoides y Leptogium diaphanum sobre los robles. La luminosidad y la rugosidad son factores de influencia en la distribución de los líquenes

Actividad antioxidante de liquenes de la cuenca alta del rio Bogotá

Los líquenes son una asociación de un hongo y un alga, la utilidad más conocida es como fuente de alimento, pero también se sabe de los usos como colorantes, actividad antibiótica, como componente principal en pomadas para evitar infecciones en heridas superficiales y quemaduras. Algunos líquenes se utilizan para elaborar cosméticos y perfumería, otros son fuentes naturales de aceites esenciales. La tendencia actual es la búsqueda de productos de origen natural con actividad biológica, útil para la salud, por tal razón se seleccionaron las especies Everniastrum columbiense, Flavopunctelia flaventor, Parmotrema simulans, Ramalina celastri, Teloschistes exilis y Usnea sp., colectadas en el margen occidental del rio Bogotá, cuenca alta (N 05° 07’ 23,4” W 73° 39’ 10,5”), estableciéndose la actividad antioxidante por el método de decoloración de radicales DPPH•. Para ello se utilizaron extractos de diferentes polaridades; en concentraciones de 250, 125, 25, 2,5 y 0,25 ppm. El porcentaje de captación de radicales por el método DPPH• se encontró en un intervalo de 28.5 ±0.14 y 95.5 ±0.38 a 250 ppm. El Coeficiente de Inhibición media (IC50) y la Actividad Antioxidante Relativa con respecto al ácido ascórbico (AAR) mostró que los Extractos totales de los líquenes Ramalina celastri, Flavopunctelia flaventor y Parmotrema simulans presentaron mayor actividad antioxidante por el método DPPH•. Abstract Lichens are a combination of a fungus and an alga, the best known use is as a food source, but it is also known for its to use as dyes, antibiotic activity, as the main component in ointments to prevent infections in superficial wounds and burns. Some lichens are used to make cosmetics and perfumery, others are natural sources of essential oils. The current trend is the search for natural products with biological activity, useful for health, for this reason the species Everniastrum columbiense, Flavopunctelia flaventor, Parmotrema simulans, Ramalina celastri, Teloschistes exilis and Usnea sp were selected., Lichens were collected in the range Western Bogotá river, upstream (N 05 ° 07 ‘23.4 “W 73 ° 39’ 10.5”), establishing the antioxidant activity by DPPH• discoloration method radicals. These extracts of different polarities are used; at concentrations of 250, 125, 25, 2.5 and 0.25 ppm. The percentage of radical scavenging by DPPH• method is found in a range of 28.5 ± 0.14 and 95.5 ± 0.38 to 250 ppm. The average coefficient of inhibition (IC50) and the Relative Antioxidant Activity (%AAR) compared to ascorbic acid showed that total extracts of the lichens Ramalina celastri, Flavopunctelia flaventor and Parmotrema simulans showed higher antioxidant activity by the DPPH• method

New species of Sticta (lichenised Ascomycota, lobarioid Peltigeraceae) from Bolivia suggest a high level of endemism in the Central Andes

Six species of Sticta are described as new to science on the basis of material from Bolivia and supported by phylogenetic analysis of the fungal ITS barcoding marker. The species were resolved in all three of the clades (I, II, III) widespread and common in the Neotropics, as defined in an earlier study on the genus. Comparison with material from neighbouring countries (i.e. Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) suggests that these new species may be potentially endemic to the Bolivian Yungas ecoregion. For each species, a detailed morphological and anatomical description is given. Sticta amboroensis Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking is a medium-sized green-algal species with laminal to submarginal apothecia with hirsute margins and with light to dark brown lower tomentum. Sticta aymara Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada, Flakus, Rodriguez-Flakus & Lücking is a comparatively small cyanobacterial taxon with Nostoc as photobiont, laminal, richly branched, aggregate isidia and a golden to chocolate-brown lower tomentum. The medium-sized, cyanobacterial S. bicellulata Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking has cyanobacterial photobiont, bicellular ascospores, apothecia with white to golden-brown hairs on the margins, K+ violet apothecial margin (ring around disc) and epihymenium and a white to dark brown lower tomentum. In contrast, the green-algal species, S. carrascoensis Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking is characterised by its large size, apothecia with dark brown hairs on the margins and a yellow medulla. The cyanobacterial S. catharinae Ossowska, B. Moncada, Kukwa, Flakus, Rodriguez-Flakus & Lücking forms stipitate thalli with Nostoc as photobiont, abundant, laminal to submarginal apothecia and a golden-brown lower tomentum. Finally, the cyanobacterial S. pseudoimpressula Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking produces laminal apothecia with an orange-yellow line of pruina along the margins which reacts K+ carmine-red. In addition to the six new Bolivian taxa, the cyanobacterial S. narinioana B. Moncada, Ossowska & Lücking is described as new from Colombia and it represents the closely-related sister species of the Bolivian S. aymara; it differs from the latter largely in the marginal instead of laminal isidia

Global phylogeny and taxonomic reassessment of the lichen genus Dendriscosticta (Ascomycota: Peltigerales)

peer reviewedThe genus Dendriscosticta (Ascomycota: Peltigerales) encompasses several distinctive lichen-forming fungal species restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. Most are flagship species of old-growth forests with good air quality. A global phylogeny of the genus based on multilocus sequence data (ITS, RPB1, EF-1α, MCM7), model-based phylogenetic methods, and morphological and chemical assessments, reveals a high level of cryptic speciation often associated with restricted geographical distribution and/or chemical characters. Using sequence-based species delimitation approaches, we circumscribe two main clades referred to as the D. wrightii clade, with five unequivocal species, including D. gelida sp. nov., and the D. praetextata clade, with eight putative species, including D. phyllidiata sp. nov. The absence of recently collected material of D. hookeri comb. nov. from the type locality unfortunately prevents assignment of this epithet to one of the five supported lineages sharing this morphotype. Three new combinations are proposed: D. hookeri, D. insinuans comb. nov. and D. yatabeana comb. nov. Epitypes are designated for D. wrightii and D. yatabeana. Species diversity within the genus increased from four to nine. Our morphological assessment confirmed that Sticta and Dendriscosticta can be readily distinguished by the presence of excipular algae whereas the structure of the lower surface pores is not a reliable diagnostic feature

Towards a dynamic checklist of lichen-forming, lichenicolous and allied fungi of Ecuador – using the <i>Consortium of Lichen Herbaria</i> to manage fungal biodiversity in a megadiverse country

peer reviewedA checklist of Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Ecuador is presented with a total of 2599 species, of which 39 are reported for the first time from the country. The names of three species, Hypotrachyna montufariensis, H. subpartita and Sticta hypoglabra, previously not validly published, are validated. Pertusaria oahuensis, originally introduced by Magnusson as ‘ad interim’, is validated as Lepra oahuensis. The form Leucodermia leucomelos f. albociliata is validated. Two new combinations, Fissurina tectigera and F. timida, are made, and Physcia mobergii is introduced as a replacement name for the illegitimate P. lobulata Moberg non (Flörke) Arnold. In an initial step, the checklist was compiled by reviewing literature records of Ecuadorian lichen biota spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. Subsequently, records were added based on vouchers from 56 collections participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria, a Symbiota-based biodiversity platform with particular focus on, but not exclusive to, North and South America. Symbiota provides sophisticated tools to manage biodiversity data, such as occurrence records, a taxonomic thesaurus, and checklists. The thesaurus keeps track of frequently changing names, distinguishing taxa currently accepted from ones considered synonyms. The software also provides tools to create and manage checklists, with an emphasis on selecting vouchers based on occurrence records that can be verified for identification accuracy. Advantages and limitations of creating checklists in Symbiota versus traditional ways of compiling these lists are discussed. Traditional checklists are well suited to document current knowledge as a ‘snapshot in time’. They are important baselines, frequently used by ecologists and conservation scientists as an established naming convention for citing species reported from a country. Compiling these lists, however, requires an immense effort, only to inadequately address the dynamic nature of scientific discovery. Traditional checklists are thus quickly out of date, particularly in groups with rapidly changing taxonomy, such as lichenized fungi. Especially in megadiverse countries, where new species and new occurrences continue to be discovered, traditional checklists are not easily updated; these lists necessarily fall short of efficiently managing immense data sets, and they rely primarily on secondary evidence (i.e. literature records rather than specimens). Ideally, best practices make use of dynamic database platforms such as Symbiota to assess occurrence records based both on literature citations and voucher specimens. Using modern data management tools comes with a learning curve. Systems like Symbiota are not necessarily intuitive and their functionality can still be improved, especially when handling literature records. However, online biodiversity data platforms have much potential in more efficiently managing and assessing large biodiversity data sets, particularly when investigating the lichen biota of megadiverse countries such as Ecuador

El género Sticta (Schreb.) Ach. en Colombia: taxonomía, ecogeografía e importancia

Se presenta una revisión taxonómica y sistemática del género Sticta (Lobariaceae) en Colombia, con un análisis biogeográfico y filogenético. Se revisaron cerca de 2200 ejemplares de 22 herbarios nacionales e internacionales. Fueron estudiados 168 caracteres morfológicos, anatómicos y químicos, incluyendo muchos caracteres nuevos. Muestras selectas fueron estudias por cromatografía de capa fina en busca de metabolitos secundarios. Los datos provenientes de las etiquetas se tabularon y analizaron bajo el programa PC-Ord, realizando un análisis NMS para establecer correlaciones entre la distribución de las especies y sus biotipos. A más de 300 muestras se les estudió el ITS para ser analizadas por el método de máxima verosimilitud con el fin de realizar una aproximación filogenética del grupo en Colombia y su relación con las especies mundialmente conocidas. Se obtuvieron 103 especies, de las cuales 66 son nuevas para la ciencia, una nueva combinación y dos nombres nuevos. Todas las especies se describen y se discuten de manera detallada, acompañadas de figuras y datos de distribución y ecología y se presenta una clave sinóptica. Sticta es un género con mayor abundancia en la Región Andina, donde la altitud, las zonas de vida y la ubicación en las cordilleras juegan un papel importante en su distribución, siendo más abundante en las zonas de vida subandina, andina y de páramo. El estudio filogenético no soporta el concepto de especie actual en Sticta. Por el contrario, señala que morfotipos semejantes evolucionaron independientemente dentro del género, dando como resultado que nombres como S. fuliginosa y S. weigelii comprendan numerosas especies.Abstract. A taxonomic and systematic revision of the genus Sticta (Lobariaceae) in Colombia is presented here, including a biogeographical and phylogenetic analysis. Approximately 2200 samples from 22 national and international herbaria were studied. A total of 168 morfological, anatomical and chemical features were studied, many of them representing new characters. Selected collections were studied under TLC in order to detect secondary metabolites. Label data were arranged and analyzed using the program PC-Ord, by means of a NMS analysis, to find correlations between biotypes and species distributions. ITS data were studied from more than 300 collections and analyzed under a maximum likelihood approach, to establish the phylogenetic relationships of Colombian species and their proximity with other species. A total of 103 species is presented, 66 as new species, one new combination and two new names. All species are described in detail, together with pictures and distributional and ecology data, and a synoptic key of all species is presented. Sticta is a mostly Andean genus with high abundance in the Colombian Andean Region, and the ecogeographical data indicate that the Cordilleras play an important role in its distribution, being more abundant in subandean, andean and páramo life zones. Phylogenetic data do not support the current species concept in Sticta. On the contrary, the resulting tree shows that similar morphotypes evolved independently in the genus, suggesting that names such as S. fuliginosa and S. weigelii represent many species.Doctorad

EL GÉNERO PSEUDOCYPHELLARIA VAIN. (LOBARIACEAE - ASCOMYCETES LIQUENIZADOS) EN COLOMBIA

Para Colombia, con este estudio, se reconocen seis especies del géneroPseudocyphellaria [P. aurata (Ach.) Vain., P. crocata (L.) Vain., P. intricata (Del.)Vain., P. arvidssonii D. Galloway, P. clathrata (De Not.) Malme, y P. encoensis R.Sant.], de las cuales, P. arvidssonii, P. clathrata y P. encoensis, constituyen nuevosregistros para el país. Se presentan descripciones morfoanatómicas, complementadascon datos de pruebas químicas con K, P, C, KC y cromatografía en capa fina de lasespecies encontradas, así como comentarios de datos ecológicos y de distribucióngeográfica. Se incluye una clave genérica que permite el fácil reconocimientodel género dentro de la familia Lobariaceae y una clave para las especies dePseudocyphellaria que crecen en Colombia.</div

Ecogeography of the genus Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota: Lobariaceae) in Colombia

Colombia es un país megadiverso, pero con una ausencia significativa en el conocimiento de la taxonomía y ecología de hongos y líquenes. Por lo tanto, el objetivo del presente estudio era un análisis ecogeográfico de las especies de Sticta de Colombia. Los datos incluyeron la macrodistribución (con respeto a las cordilleras y zonas de vida) y preferencias de microhabitat (luz, sustrato) y fueron obtenidos mediante trabajo de campo y en el herbario (complemetados con mapas modernos de geografía y vegetación), para 103 especies actualmente reconocidas en Colombia (más siete biotipos con diferentes fotobiontes o modo de reproducción). Se elaboró un análisis de ordenación usando la técnica de escalamiento multidimensional no métrico (NMS), para establecer correlaciones entre variables ecogeográficas y las especies y para definir ecotipos. Las especies de Sticta en Colombia presentan patrones de distribución relativos a la altitud, las zonas de vida y la ubicación en las cordilleras, tanto como luz y sustrato, formando varios grupos distintos. Las especies con cianobionte tienen un rango de distribución más amplio que las especies con fotobionte verde. Concluimos que la orogenia de los Andes afectó significativamente la especiación del género Sticta y su diferenciación ecogeográfica.Colombia is a megadiverse country, but with a substantial gap in the taxonomic and ecological knowledge of fungi and lichens. Thus, the objective of the present study was an ecogeographical analysis of the Sticta species in Colombia. The data included macrodistribution (with respect to mountain ranges and life zones) and microhabitat preferences (light, substrate) and were obtained from field work and herbarium collection labels (completed by comparison with modern geographic and vegetation maps), for 103 species of Sticta currently recognized in Colombia (plus seven additional biotypes with different photobionts or reproductive mode). Using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), correlations between ecogeographical variables and species were established, and ecotypes were delimited. Colombian species of Sticta showed distinct distribution patterns relative to altitude, mountain ranges, life zones, as well as light exposure and substrate, forming several distinct groups. Cyanobacterial species tend to have wider distribution ranges than green algal species. We concluded that the orogeny of the Northern Andes substantially affected speciation of the genus Sticta and its ecogeographical differentiation