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Abstract Detail



Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Tripp, Erin [1], Lendemer, James [2].

The Enticing Life of Arthonia.

What would I give…. to exploit all the modes of nutrition on this planet, from living in symbiosis where dinner is always served, to living loosely with other organisms in a parasymbiotic state, to living stealthily and pathogenically inside the fruiting bodies of another? What would I give… to grow in the lush temperate rainforests of the Smokies, to wile away the hours amongst the coastal live oaks dripping with Tillandsia, or to hang blithely on the Osa Peninsula with my friends? What would I give… to reproduce both sexually and asexually, or to find a happy home on stone or tree, on twig or leaf or other living things? What would I give… to be red or green or orange or pink or blue or gray and all colors in between? What would I give… to be “intractably variable” and “practically impossible”? Some guys just have it all figured out. The lichen symbiosis is widely accepted as representing a source for evolutionary innovation unique within the fungal tree of life. With ~ 500 species, Arthonia is among the biggest lichen genera in the world. Its diversity is almost assuredly related to the impressive ecological variation described above. Yet despite the diversity and abundance of Arthonia, there are there only 12 species archived in GenBank. This is in part attributable to difficulty in working with the genus in the molecular lab and because fresh material is critical to such study. As part of our work in the Southern Appalachians and Southeastern Coastal Plain, we have been making extensive field collections of Arthonia, with the goal of using such material to begin revising the genus in North America. Come hear all about the natural history of this clever lichenological phenom.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - University of Colorado, Boulder, Museum of Natural History (COLO Herbarium), Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, United States
2 - New York Botanic Garden, 200th Street And Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA

Keywords:
lichens
symbiosis
cryptogam
North America.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 7
Location: Ascot/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM
Number: 7001
Abstract ID:580
Candidate for Awards:None


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