Foliicolous lichens and their lichenicolous fungi collected during the Smithsonian International Cryptogamic Expedition to Guyana 1996

A total of 233 foliicolous lichen species and 18 lichenicolous fungi are reported from Guyana as a result of the Smithsonian „International Cryptogamic Expedition to Guyana“ 1996. Three lichens and two lichenicolous fungi are new to science: Arthonia grubei sp.n., Badimia subelegans sp.n., Calopadia pauciseptata sp.n., Opegrapha matzeri sp.n. (lichenicolous on Amazonomyces sprucei), and Pyrenidium santessonii sp.n. (lichenicolous on Bacidia psychotriae). The new combination Strigula janeirensis (Bas.: Phylloporina janeirensis; syn.: Raciborskiella janeirensis) is proposed. Apart from Amazonomyces sprucei and Bacidia psychotriae, Arthonia lecythidicola (with the lichenicolous A. pseudopegraphina) and Byssolecania deplanata (with the lichenicolous Opegrapha cf. kalbii) are reported as new hosts for lichenicolous fungi. Arthonia pseudopegraphina growing on A. lecythidicola is the first known case of adelphoparasitism at generic level in foliicolous Arthonia. Arthonia flavoverrucosa, Badimia polillensis, and Byssoloma vezdanum are new records for the Neotropics, and 115 species are new for Guyana, resulting in a total of c. 280 genuine foliicolous species reported for that country, while Porina applanata and P. verruculosa are excluded from its flora. The foliicolous lichen flora of Guyana is representative for the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana) and has great affinities with the Amazon region, while the degree of endemism is low. A characteristic species for this area is Amazonomyces sprucei. Species composition is typical of Neotropical lowland to submontane humid forests, with a dominance of the genera Porina, Strigula, and Mazosia. The table mountain vegetation supports elements of the upper montane forest, such as Echinoplaca fusconitida and Logilvia gilva. Foliicolous lichen diversity is highest in undisturbed lowland to submontane humid forest, much lower in the table mountain vegetation and drastically decreased in semi-open secondary vegetation and the coastal savanna. Species composition in semi-open, disturbed vegetation is similar to that found in the undisturbed forest canopy. Site preferences of foliicolous lichens follow those established by studies in other Neotropical regions like Costa Rica

Additions and corrections to the knowledge of the foliicolous lichen flora of Costa Rica : the genus Fellhanera, with notes on Bacidia pauciseptata

This further contribution to the knowledge of the foliicolous lichen flora of Costa Rica provides a detailed account on the genus Fellhanera. In total, 25 species and five undescribed taxa are treated. Ten species are described as new: Fellhanera angustispora sp.n., F. dictyospora sp.n., F. dispersa sp.n., F. emarginata sp.n., F. pilomarginata sp.n., F. longispora sp.n., F. muhlei sp.n., F. montana sp.n., F. verrucifera sp.n., and F. viridis sp.n. New combinations are F. pauciseptata (R. Sant.) R. Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Bacidia pauciseptata R. Sant.] and F. rubida (Müll. Arg.) R. Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Patellaria rubida Müll. Arg.]. F. dominicana (Vain.) Vezda is placed into synonymy with F. fuscatula (Müll. Arg.) Vezda, whose type has 7-septate ascospores, and the name F. subfuscatula R. Lücking sp.n. is introduced for the taxon with 5-septate ascospores formerly known as F. fuscatula. F. misionensis Ferraro & R. Lücking ined. and F. sublecanorina (Nyl.) Vezda are reported for the first time from Costa Rica. The formerly invalidly published names F. farinosa nom. nud. and F. pilosa nom. nud. are considered to be synonyms of F. fuscatula (Müll. Arg.) Vezda and F. rhapidophylli (Rehm) Vezda, respectively. Specimens identified as F. tuckeri nom. nud. belong to F. rhapidophylli as well. F. buxi is excluded from the foliicolous lichen flora of Costa Rica. A keys is provided to the complex group of species of Fellhanera with brownish apothecia and 3-septate ascospores. Infrageneric relationships within Fellhanera are briefly discussed, and notes on the ecology of the species are provided.La presente contribución al conocimiento de la líquenoflora foliícola de Costa Rica trata en detalle el género Fellhanera, incluyendo 25 especies y otros cinco taxa aún no descritos hasta la fecha. Se describen diez especies nuevas: Fellhanera angustispora sp.n., F. dictyospora sp.n., F. dispersa sp.n., F. emarginata sp.n., F. pilomarginata sp.n., F. longispora sp.n., F. muhlei sp.n., F. montana sp.n., F. verrucifera sp.n., y F. viridis sp.n., además de las nuevas combinaciones F. pauciseptata (R. Sant.) R. Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Bacidia pauciseptata R. Sant.] y Fellhanera rubida (Müll. Arg.) R. Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Patellaria rubida Müll. Arg.]. F. dominicana (Vain.) Vezda es puesta en sinonimía con F. fuscatula (Müll. Arg.) Vezda, cuyo material tipo tiene esporas 7-septadas, y el nombre F. subfuscatula R. Lücking sp.n. es introducido para el taxon con esporas 5-septadas, hasta ahora conocido como F. fuscatula. F. misionensis Ferraro & R. Lücking ined. y F. sublecanorina (Nyl.) Vezda son comunicados por primera vez de Costa Rica. Los nombres F. farinosa nom. nud. and F. pilosa nom. nud., invalidamente publicadas por el autor en una publicación anterior, son considerados como sinónimos de F. fuscatula (Müll. Arg.) Vezda y F. rhapidophylli (Rehm) Vezda, respectivamente. Especimenes entonces identificados como F. tuckeri nom. nud. actualmente pertenecen a F. rhapidophylli; igualmente, F. buxi Vezda & Vivant es excluida de la líquenoflora foliícola de Costa Rica. Se presenta una clave para el dificil grupo de especies de Fellhanera con apotecios marrones y esporas 3-septadas. Finalmente, se discutan las relaciones infragenericas dentro del género Fellhanera, y se dan notas sobre la ecología de las especies

Peter D. Crittenden: meta-analysis of an exceptional two-decade tenure as senior editor of The Lichenologist, the flagship journal of lichenology

Peter D. Crittenden served as senior editor of The Lichenologist, the flagship journal in the field of lichenological research, for a period of two decades, between 2000 and 2019. A review of the development of the journal and the publication output during this period is provided. The number of papers published during this period (1197) matches that of all papers published under the three previous senior editors, Peter W. James, David L. Hawksworth and Dennis H. Brown, during a much longer period of 42 years from 1958 to 1999. Peter oversaw important editorial changes to the layout and content of the journal: an increased size with a modern cover design, leaving behind the classic mint-coloured cover of more than 40 years; the addition of ‘thematic issues’ and encouragement of large monographs; implementation of substantial changes to the Code, such as effective electronic publication and obligate registration of new fungal names; and more recently a new policy to reject so-called ‘single naked species descriptions’. Shortly before Peter took over as senior editor, The Lichenologist had received its first impact factor, and Peter managed to continuously increase this measure from around 0.9 to lately up to over 1.5, higher than most other competing journals. The 1197 papers between 2000 and 2019 were published by a total of 1138 different authors, more than half of whom appeared just once as author, whereas a small number participated in numerous (up to 93) papers. There was a continuous increase in the mean number of authors per paper per year, from below 2.5 to around 3.5, the highest numbers ranging between 11 and 30; still, c. 75% of all papers between 2000 and 2019 were single-authored or had up to three authors. Based on affiliations at the time of publication, two thirds of author contributions came from Europe (66%), 13% from North America, 9% from Asia and 7% from Latin America. Likewise, almost half of the study areas were located in Europe and around 10% each in North America, South America and Asia. The countries with the highest number of studies included, in descending order, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway and Sweden. North America and Europe were over-represented in terms of author contributions, whereas Africa, Latin America, Australia and Oceania were over-represented in terms of study areas. The 1197 papers analyzed encompassed a broad diversity of topics, classified into 32 categories. Taxonomy of lichenized fungi was the most frequent component, representing the focal point in almost half of all studies, followed by phylogeny and evolution, ecology, and the taxonomy of lichenicolous fungi. Around two thirds of the currently accepted genera of lichenized fungi were treated, with a significant correlation between known species richness and the number of papers in which a genus was treated, underlining the taxonomic representativity of papers published in the journal during the past two decades. Examples of genera that were treated more frequently than expected included commonly studied model organisms, such as Lobaria, and those frequently featured in ecological or other non-taxonomic studies, such as Xanthoria. Species-rich tropical genera, particularly in the Graphidaceae, were generally under-represented. Mean number of authors per paper per volume and total number of country origins of authors per volume were the best predictors of impact factor, followed by diversity of study countries per volume, mean number of study countries per paper per volume, mean number of topics per paper per volume, and proportion of studies with phylogenetic components per volume. Individual papers that contributed to high impact factors included broad-scale revisionary treatments and worldwide keys to species-rich taxa, substantial phylogenetic reclassifications of known taxonomic groups, papers dealing with novel methodological approaches of broad interest, and broad-scale studies related to environmental change and lichen biomonitoring

Estado actual de las investigaciones sobre líquenes foliícolas en la región neotrópica : con un análisis biogeográfico preliminar

An overview over the present state of investigations on foliicolous lichens in the Neotropics is provided. Historically, a division can be made into (1) the initial period, dominated by the work of J. Müller Argoviensis, (2) the monography of R. Santesson, (3) the Brazilian phase, characterized by the Brazilian mycologist A. C. Batista and his working group, and (4) the modern period, with detailed monographical and floristical studies and an increasing interest in the ecology of foliicolous lichens and their use as bioindicators. We now have rather good knowledge of the taxonomy and systematics of most groups, although new species are continuously described and some families and genera are in need of revision. Detailed floristical information is available from a few regions only, and biogeographical data are therefore incomplete and controversial. Modern ecological studies have been made to some extent, yet the results and their implications have to be verified by extended studies inside and outside the Neotropics. Preliminary data indicate that foliicolous lichens are useful as bioindicators in various respects. Biogeographically, the Neotropics are characterized by a high number of exclusive species and by their affinity with tropical Africa. Within the Neotropics, biogeographical subdivisions, as established by higher plant distribution patterns, are only in a few instances supported by the distribution of foliicolous lichens. In general, subtile biogeographical conclusions with respect to foliicolous lichens are difficult, because of the wide distribution of many species and the insufficient floristic knowledge of particular regions.Se presenta un resumen del estado actual de investigaciones sobre líquenes foliícolas en la región Neotrópica. Historicamente, se puede hacer una división en (1) el período inicial, dominado por las obras de J. Müller Argoviensis, (2) la monografía de R. Santesson, (3) la fase brasileña, caracterizada por el micólogo Brasileño A. C. Batista y sus colaboradores, y (4) el período moderno, con estudios detallados monográficos y florísticos y un creciente interés en la ecología de líquenes foliícolas. Actualmente tenemos un conocimiento -taxonómico y sistemático relativamente bueno en la mayoría de los grupos, aunque nuevas espécies son descritas continuamente y algunas familias y géneros necesitan revisiones. Información florística detallada existe solamente de pocas regiones, y por esa razon los datos biogeográficos quedan incompletos y controversos. Estudios ecológicos modernos fueron realizados en varias ocasiones, pero falta verificar los resultados por estudios extensivas en otras regiones dentro y fuera del Neotrópico. Investigaciones preliminares demuestran que los líquenes foliícolas pueden ser usados como bioindicadores en diferentes formas. Biogeograficamente, la región Neotrópica esta caracterizada por un alto número de espécies exclusivos y por su afinidad con África tropical. Debido a la amplia distribución de muchos taxa y al déficit del conocimiento florístico, las subdivisiones biogeográficas dentro del Neotrópico, establecidas con patrones de distribución de plantas superiores, solo en pocos casos son apoyadas por la distribución de líquenes foliícolas

New species or interesting records of foliicolous lichens : 7., Calenia flava (Ostropales: Gomphillaceae)

Calenia flava spec. nova from Papua New Guinea is described and illustrated. The new species is closely related to C. phyllogena but differs in the larger apothecia with yellow disc and the abundance of sterile thallus hairs

Quantitative integrative taxonomy informs species delimitation in Teloschistaceae (lichenized Ascomycota): the genus Wetmoreana as a case study

The genus Wetmoreana was studied using quantitative integrative taxonomy methods to resolve the genus delimitation and explore its taxonomy diversity at the species level. As a result, the genus Fulgogasparrea is synonymized with Wetmoreana, and the latter includes 15 formally described species, one subspecies, and three further, thus far undescribed species: W. appressa, W. awasthii comb. nov., W. bahiensis sp. nov., W. brachyloba comb. nov., W. brouardii, W. chapadensis comb. nov., W. circumlobata sp. nov., W. decipioides, W. intensa comb. nov., W. ochraceofulva comb. nov., W. rubra sp. nov., W. sliwae sp. nov., W. sliwae ssp. subparviloba subsp. nov., W. subnitida comb. nov., W. texana, and W. variegata sp. nov. Eleven of 19 examined taxa are newly placed within this genus or confirmed to belong to it. Two species, W. awasthii and W. intensa, are transferred to Wetmoreana without additional analysis but based on previous studies. The W. brouardii and W. ochraceofulva species complexes are discussed in detail. Additionally, Caloplaca muelleri and C. rubina var. evolutior are transferred to Squamulea, and the latter is elevated to the species rank

Adiciones a la flora liquénica foliícola de Argentina, Paraguay Oriental y regiones limítrofes de Brasil

In the present paper the authors update the taxonomic and floristic knowledge of foliicolous lichenized fungi in northern Argentina and adjacent areas in Paraguay and southern Brazil. Twenty-seven taxa are reported for the first time, and the genera Phyllobathelium and Psorotheciopsis are recorded for the first time in Argentina. Furthermore, the new combination Gyalectidium catenulatum [ºTauromyces catenulatus] is proposed.En este trabajo, los autores actualizan el conocimiento taxonómico y florístico de hongos liquenizados foliícolas para el norte de Argentina y áreas adjacentes en Paraguay y el sur de Brasil. Se agregan 27 taxones novedosos, y se mencionan por primera vez para Argentina los géneros Phyllobathelium y Psorotheciopsis. Además, se propone la nueva combinación Gyalectidium catenulatum [Tauromyces catenulatus]

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

PhyloKey: a novel method to rapidly and reliably identify species in complex, species-rich genera, and an opportunity for ‘non-molecular museomics’

We present a novel identification tool called PhyloKey, based on the method of morphology-based, phylogenetic binning developed within the software package RAxML. This method takes a reference data set of species for which both molecular and morphological data are available, computes a molecular reference tree, maps the morphological characters on the tree, and computes weights based on their level of consistency versus homoplasy using maximum likelihood (ML) and maximum parsimony (MP). Additional units for which only morphological data are known are then binned onto the reference tree, calculating bootstrap support values for alternative placements. This approach is modified here to work as an identification tool which uses the same character coding approach as interactive keys. However, rather than identifying individual samples through a progressive filtering process when entering or selecting characters, query samples are binned in batch mode to all possible alternative species in the tree, with each placement receiving a bootstrap support adding to 100% for all alternative placements. In addition to the fact that, after scoring a character matrix, a large number of specimens can be identified at once in short time, all possible alternative identifications are immediately apparent and can be evaluated based on their bootstrap support values. We illustrate this approach using the basidiolichen genus Cora, which was recently shown to contain hundreds of species. We also demonstrate how the PhyloKey approach can aid the restudying of herbarium samples, adding further value to these collections and contributing with large quantitative data matrices to ‘non-molecular museomics’. Our analysis showed that PhyloKey identifies species correctly with as low as 50% of the characters sampled, depending on the nature of the reference tree and the character weighting scheme. Overall, a molecular reference tree worked best, but a randomized reference tree gave more consistent results, whereas a morphological reference tree performed less well. Surprisingly, even character weighting gave the best results, followed by parsimony weighting and then maximum likelihood weighting

Diversity begets diversity: Phorophyte and microsite relations of foliicolous lichens in the lowland rain forest at Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Veracruz, Mexico)

We analyzed the structure of foliicolous lichen communities in the northernmost lowland forest of the Neotropics, Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station in Veracruz, Mexico, and its dependence on phorophyte and microclimate. Along a 420‐m long transect with 15 equidistant sampling points, within a 10 m radius of each point, we sampled a total 137 phorophytes and 411 leaves. The phorophytes represented 13 species, with diverse leaf traits regarding size, texture, presence of hairs and/or glands, and longevity, including: Astrocaryum mexicanum (Arecaceae), Chamaedorea ernesti‐augustii (Arecaceae), Costus scaber (Costaceae), Guarea glabra (Meliaceae), Heliconia latispatha (Heliconiaceae), Monstera acuminata (Araceae), Myriocarpa longipes (Urticaceae), Piper hispidum (Piperaceae), Poulsenia armata (Moraceae), Pseudolmedia oxyphyllaria (Moraceae), Salacia megistophylla (Celastraceae), Siparuna thecaphora (Siparunaceae) and Syngonium podophyllum (Araceae). NDMS ordination and cluster analysis grouped the phorophytes into hierarchically structured clusters variously correlated with microsite, phorophyte species and foliicolous lichen species richness. Indicator species analysis revealed statistically significant foliicolous lichen species characteristic for terminal clusters and for phorophyte species. We conclude that the principle of “diversity begets diversity” may apply, in that phorophyte diversity influences the diversity of foliicolous lichen communities through the manifestation of subtle phorophyte preferences, best seen in well‐developed communities on leaves with higher longevity. Thus, well‐preserved forest ecosystems, with a higher diversity of suitable phorophytes, will support a higher diversity of foliicolous lichens, a phenomenon that extents to epiphytes in general