Leif Tibell | |
---|---|
Born | 1944 |
Nationality | Swedish |
Alma mater | Uppsala University |
Awards | Acharius Medal (2012) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Lichenology |
Institutions | Swedish Research Council Uppsala University |
Author abbrev. (botany) | Tibell [1] |
Leif Tibell (born 16 November 1944) is a Swedish lichenologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Uppsala. He is known for his expertise on calicioid lichens. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2012 for lifetime achievements in lichenology.
Tibell was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1944. [2] He developed an interest in lichens at a young age after meeting the prominent lichenologist Gunnar Degelius through the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, where they were both members. [3] Degelius mentored Tibell, and recommended to him that he should study the subject at Uppsala University, which he did after moving there in the mid 1960s. [2]
He continued with graduate studies under the supervision of Rolf Santesson after accompanying him on a research excursion to Norway's Varanger Peninsula in 1966. [2] Santesson was Curator of the Herbarium at the Botany Department. He was also the father of Johan Santesson, who knew Tibell through an organic chemistry research group they were both part of. Rolf Santesson, who became Tibell's Ph.D. supervisor and second main mentor, [3] suggested he should study genera of the family Caliciaceae – the pin lichens. Tibell followed his advice and ultimately developed a long career that was largely dedicated to the study of this group. After earning a Ph.D. in 1975, Tibell accepted a position at the Swedish Research Council that he held for many years. In 1978, he started to edit the exsiccata series Caliciales exsiccatae. [5] Tibell was later promoted to Senior Lecturer and ultimately Professor in 2000. [2] As of 2021, he is an Emeritus Professor with the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University. [6]
Tibell was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2012. Swedish botanist Mats Wedin noted that another prominent Swedish lichenologist, Erik Acharius (for whom the medal is named), published one of the earliest taxonomic monographs in lichenology also on the subject of calicioid lichens. [3] Tibell had a Festschrift dedicated to him in celebration of his 60th birthday in 2004. [7]
Several taxa have been named in honour of Tibell. These include: [8] Leifidium Wedin (1993); Tibellia Vězda & Hafellner (1992); Atla tibelliorum Pykälä & Myllys (2016); Caloplaca tibellii S.Y.Kondr. & Kärnefelt (2009); Chaenothecopsis leifiana Titov, Kuzn. & Himelbr. (2004); Chaenothecopsis tibellii Titov (2000); Chapsa tibellii Mangold (2009); Choreospora tibellii Constant. & R.Sant. (1987); Dimerella tibellii Vězda; Diorygma tibellii Kalb, Staiger & Elix (2004); Hypotrachyna tibellii Elix, T.H.Nash & Sipman (2009); Lecanactis tibelliana Egea & Torrente (1994); Phaeocalicium tibellii Kalb (1992); Plectocarpon tibellii Ertz & Diederich (2005); Pronectria tibellii Zhurb. (2004); Pyrgillus tibellii Kr.P.Singh & Pushpi Singh (2012); Rinodina tibellii H.Mayrhofer (1983); Sphaerophorus tibellii Wedin (1992); Xanthoparmelia tibellii T.H.Nash & Elix (2004); and Xanthoria tibellii S.Y.Kondr. & Kärnefelt (2003).
Some of Tibell's major publications include:
The Mycocaliciaceae are a family of seven genera and about 90 species of fungi in the order Mycocaliciales.
Calicium is a genus of leprose lichens. It is in the family Caliciaceae, and has 40 species.
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.
Chaenothecopsis is a genus of about 40 species of pin lichens in the family Mycocaliciaceae.
Phaeocalicium is a genus of fungi in the family Mycocaliciaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1970 by German lichenologist Alexander Schmidt, with Phaeocalicium praecedens assigned as the type species.
Aino Marjatta Henssen, was a German lichenologist and systematist. Her father, Gottfried Henssen, was a folklorist and her mother was Finnish.
Chaenothecopsis vainioana is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Caliciaceae that is found in Europe. It was first formally described by Czech lichenologist Josef Nádvorník in 1940 as a member of the genus Calicium. The specific epithet honours Finnish lichenologist Edvard August Vainio. Leif Tibell transferred it to genus Chaenothecopsis in 1979. Calicium vainioanum has been reported growing on Arthonia, Lecanactis abietina, and Calicium salicinum.
Josef Hafellner is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz. Hafellner started developing an interest in lichens while he was a student at this institution, studying under Josef Poelt. He earned a master's degree in 1975 and a PhD in 1978, defending a doctoral thesis about the genus Karschia. In 2003, Hafellner received his habilitation. By this time, he had studied with French lichenologist André Bellemère (1927–2014) at Saint-Cloud, where he learned techniques of transmission electron microscopy and how their application in studying asci could be used in lichen systematics. His 1984 work Studien in Richtung einer natürlicheren Gliederung der Sammelfamilien Lecanoraceae und Lecideaceae has been described as "probably the single most influential publication in lichen systematics in the latter half of the 20th century".
Jan Eric Ingvar Kärnefelt is a Swedish lichenologist.
Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.
John Alan (Jack) Elix emeritus professor in chemistry at the Australian National University, is an organic chemist who has contributed in many fields: lichenology, lichen chemotaxonomy, plant physiology and biodiversity and natural product chemistry. He has authored 2282 species names, and 67 genera in the field of mycology. Elix edited the exsiccata series Lichenes Australasici exsiccati.
Allocalicium is a single-species fungal genus in the family Caliciaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single pin lichen species Allocalicium adaequatum. This lichen occurs in North America, South America, Europe, and the Russian Far East, where it grows on branches and twigs of deciduous trees and shrubs, typically those of alder and poplar. The species was originally described in 1869 as a member of Calicium, but molecular phylogenetics analysis demonstrated it was not a member of that genus and so Allocalicium was created to contain it.
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.
Chaenotheca brachypoda is a species of lichen in the family Coniocybaceae. It was first described in 1816 by Erik Acharius as Coniocybe brachypoda. Leif Tibell transferred it to the genus Chaenotheca in 1987.
Josef Nádvorník was a Czech lichenologist. He was an authority on lichens of the order Caliciales and, in particular, the genus Physcia.
Sten Gustaf Edvard Ahlner was a Swedish lichenologist.
Klaus Kalb is a German lichenologist and an authority on tropical lichens.
Hannes Hertel is a German lichenologist and taxonomist and was Director of the State Herbarium in Munich, Germany 1992–2004. His specialist areas are the fungi and lichens.
Caloplaca tibellii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt. The type specimen was collected from Porongurup National Park, where it was found growing on the decaying bark of Eucalyptus. The species epithet honours Swedish lichenologist Leif Tibell, who collected the type in 1983.
Ove Almborn was a Swedish lichenologist and educator. Born in Ronneby, Sweden, Almborn grew up in an environment that nurtured his early interest in botany and lichens. His early academic interests and discoveries in new lichens inspired his doctoral dissertation, which focused on the distribution and ecology of lichens in South Scandinavia. After graduating from Lund University, he was employed at its department of systematic botany, initially as a senior lecturer and later as the curator of the botanical collections at its botanical garden.