Abstract Detail

Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Dal-Forno, Manuela [1], Lucking, Robert [2], Bungartz, Frank [3], Lawrey, James D. [4].

High levels of endemism in Galapagos Islands basidiolichens of the Dictyonema clade: An updated assessment including molecular data and taxonomic novelties.

This study is an assessment of the present state of knowledge concerning the diversity of basidiolichens in the Galapagos Islands. Based on collections from the Islands made in the past and by us recently, all basidiolichens in the Galapagos belong to the Dictyonema clade. After a previously published taxonomic account, we include here for the first time a molecular phylogenetic study of 90 specimens in the genera Acantholichen, Cora, Cyphellostereum, and Dictyonema s.s., making use of two nuclear ribosomal DNA markers (ITS and LSU). A detailed morphological and anatomical revision is also incorporated. Ten basidiolichen species are now known from the Islands, among them three that have been published elsewhere and seven species are proposed as new to science. The ten species are distributed as follows: Acantholichen (1), Cora (2), Cyphellostereum (2), and Dictyonema s.s. (5). Based on our phylogenetic analysis including hundreds of samples from several tropical localities, it appears that of these ten species, only two Dictyonema s.s. are found outside of the Galapagos Islands, in continental Ecuador. This suggests a high level of endemism of 80% in these lichens for the archipelago. In addition, our data shows that all basidiolichens in Galapagos are the result of ten independent colonization events, and not radiation within the islands.

1 - George Mason University, Environmental Science and Public Policy, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA
2 - Field Museum Of Natural History, Department Of Botany, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605-2496, USA
3 - Charles Darwin Foundation (AISBL), Biodiversity Assessment, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador
4 - George Mason University, Biology, 4400 University Drive, MSN 3E1, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

Keywords:
lichens
oceanic islands
fungal diversity
cyanobacteria.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall D/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2015
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBR010
Abstract ID:1065
Candidate for Awards:None