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Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga with a filamentous fungus.
Erik Acharius was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology." Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus.
Vernon Ahmadjian was a distinguished professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He specialized in the symbiosis of lichens, and wrote several books and numerous publications on the subject.
Rhizocarpon geographicum is a species of lichen, which grows on rocks in mountainous areas of low air pollution. Each lichen is a flat patch bordered by a black line of fungal hyphae. These patches grow adjacent to each other, leading to the appearance of a map or a patchwork field.
Trebouxia is a unicellular green alga. It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and temperate regions. It can either exist in a symbiotic relationship with fungi in the form of lichen or it can survive independently as a free-living organism alone or in colonies. Trebouxia is the most common photobiont in extant lichens. It is a primary producer of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. It uses carotenoids and chlorophyll a and b to harvest energy from the sun and provide nutrients to various animals and insects.
The Acharius Medal is awarded by the International Association for Lichenology (IAL) for lifetime achievement in lichenology. The organization resolved at its 1990 meeting that it would simultaneously honor professional achievement and commemorate Erik Acharius by presenting a medal in his name.
An autotroph is an organism that produces complex organic compounds using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide, generally using energy from light (photosynthesis) or inorganic chemical reactions (chemosynthesis). They convert an abiotic source of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms. Autotrophs do not need a living source of carbon or energy and are the producers in a food chain, such as plants on land or algae in water. Autotrophs can reduce carbon dioxide to make organic compounds for biosynthesis and as stored chemical fuel. Most autotrophs use water as the reducing agent, but some can use other hydrogen compounds such as hydrogen sulfide.
Placopsis perrugosa is a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), placodioid lichen in the family Trapeliaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 1867 by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander, originally as a member of the genus Lecanora.
Temperature change due to climate change in Antarctica is not stable over the whole continent. West Antarctica is warming rapidly, while the inland regions are cooled by the winds in Antarctica. Water in the West Antarctic has warmed by 1 °C since year 1955. Further increase in temperature in water and on land will affect the climate, ice mass and life on the continent and have global implications. Present-day greenhouse gas concentrations are higher than ever according to ice cores from Antarctica, which indicates that warming on this continent is not part of a natural cycle and attributable to anthropogenic climate change.
Ana María Crespo de las Casas is a Spanish lichenologist noted for studying the phytosociology, taxonomy and floristics of Mediterranean lichens. She was awarded the 2012 Acharius Medal from the International Association for Lichenology for lifetime achievements in lichenology, and the genera Crespoa, Cresponea and Cresporhaphis were named in her honor.
Otto Ludwig Lange was a German botanist and lichenologist. The focus of his scientific work was on the ecophysiology of wild and cultivated plants as well as lichens. He investigated heat, frost and drought resistance of lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants growing under extreme environmental conditions.
David John Galloway, FRSNZ was a biochemist, botanist, and lichenologist.
Thomas Hawkes Nash III is an American lichenologist. His research is about the biology and ecology of lichens, and the effects of air pollution on plants and lichens. He is known as an authority on the family Parmeliaceae. During his long career at the Arizona State University, he helped develop the lichen herbarium into a world-class collection with over 100,000 specimens representing more than 5000 species. In 2010, the year of his retirement, he was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology, and the following year had a Festschrift published in his honor.
Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was best known for his expertise on the lichen genus Collema, he also wrote important papers on lichen biology and ecology, floristic studies of the Nordic countries and various other areas around the world, and lichen succession. Degelius described 124 new taxa, and published about 130 scientific papers. In 1992 he was one of the first to be awarded the Acharius Medal for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Fifteen species and three genera have been named in honour of Degelius.
Otto Vernon Darbishire was a British botanist who specialised in marine algae and lichens. Born in Conwy, he was educated at several places and eventually graduated from the University of Oxford.
Mastodia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Verrucariaceae. It has six species. The genus was circumscribed in 1847 by Joseph Dalton Hooker and William Henry Harvey. The type species, Mastodia tessellata, is a bipolar, coastal lichen. It forms a symbiotic association with the macroscopic genus Prasiola; this is the only known lichen symbiosis involving a foliose green alga. Studies suggest that throughout its geographic range, the lichen comprises two fungal species and three algal lineages that associate.
The following outline provides an overview of and topical guide to lichens.
Pier Luigi Nimis is Professor of Botany at the University of Trieste in Italy. He specialises in lichenology and phytogeography, including the uses of lichens as indicators of pollution and devising methods for web-based identification keys.
Hannes Hertel is a German botanist and taxonomist and was Director of the State Herbarium in Munich, Germany 1992 - 2004. His specialist areas are the fungi and lichens.
Ludger Kappen is an ecophysiologist, botanist and lichenologist. He was Director of the Botanic Institute and Botanical Garden at the University of Kiel, and Chairman and Director of the University's Polar Ecology Institute.
References
- ↑ Green, T G A; Smith, D C (1974). "Lichen physiology 14. Differences between lichen algae in symbiosis and in isolation". New Phytologist. 73 (4): 753–766. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1974.tb01303.x .
- 1 2 3 "Acharius Medallists Thomas George Allan Green". International Association for Lichenology. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ↑ "The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2013". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, New Zealand - Te tari o te pirimia me te komiti matua. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
