Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau
Subalpine habitats in sky islands in the Southwestern USA are currently facing large-scale transformations. Lichens have widely been used as bioindicators of environmental change. On the Colorado Plateau, fruticose lichens occur in patchy, disconnected populations, including unique lichen-draped con...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Conservation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7159/2/4/37 |
| _version_ | 1797460833346781184 |
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| author | Abigail Robison Mikele Baugh Lucia Muggia Steven D. Leavitt |
| author_facet | Abigail Robison Mikele Baugh Lucia Muggia Steven D. Leavitt |
| author_sort | Abigail Robison |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Subalpine habitats in sky islands in the Southwestern USA are currently facing large-scale transformations. Lichens have widely been used as bioindicators of environmental change. On the Colorado Plateau, fruticose lichens occur in patchy, disconnected populations, including unique lichen-draped conifer sites in subalpine forests in the La Sal Mountains in southeastern Utah. Here, we document the distribution and fungal diversity within these lichen communities. We find that lichen-draped conifer sites in the La Sal Mountains are restricted to only three known, small areas in <i>Picea englemannii</i> forests above 3000 m above sea level, two of which have recently been impacted by wildfire. We document 30 different species of lichen-forming fungi in these communities, several which represent the first reports from the Colorado Plateau. We also characterize mycobiont haplotype diversity for the fruticose lichens <i>Evernia divaricata</i>, <i>Ramalina sinensis</i>, and multiple <i>Usnea</i> species. We also report a range of diverse fungi associated with these lichens, including genetic clusters representing 22 orders spanning seven classes of Ascomycetes and fewer clusters representing Basidiomycetes. Our results provide a baseline for ongoing monitoring and help to raise awareness of unique lichen communities and other biodiversity in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:10:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce3285fb673d4936b65b51f951eb41e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-7159 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:10:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce3285fb673d4936b65b51f951eb41e02023-11-24T14:08:05ZengMDPI AGConservation2673-71592022-09-012455056510.3390/conservation2040037Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado PlateauAbigail Robison0Mikele Baugh1Lucia Muggia2Steven D. Leavitt3Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USADepartment of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, via Licio Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, ItalyM.L. Bean Life Science Museum and Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USASubalpine habitats in sky islands in the Southwestern USA are currently facing large-scale transformations. Lichens have widely been used as bioindicators of environmental change. On the Colorado Plateau, fruticose lichens occur in patchy, disconnected populations, including unique lichen-draped conifer sites in subalpine forests in the La Sal Mountains in southeastern Utah. Here, we document the distribution and fungal diversity within these lichen communities. We find that lichen-draped conifer sites in the La Sal Mountains are restricted to only three known, small areas in <i>Picea englemannii</i> forests above 3000 m above sea level, two of which have recently been impacted by wildfire. We document 30 different species of lichen-forming fungi in these communities, several which represent the first reports from the Colorado Plateau. We also characterize mycobiont haplotype diversity for the fruticose lichens <i>Evernia divaricata</i>, <i>Ramalina sinensis</i>, and multiple <i>Usnea</i> species. We also report a range of diverse fungi associated with these lichens, including genetic clusters representing 22 orders spanning seven classes of Ascomycetes and fewer clusters representing Basidiomycetes. Our results provide a baseline for ongoing monitoring and help to raise awareness of unique lichen communities and other biodiversity in the region.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7159/2/4/37amplicon sequencingbiodiversitybiomonitoringecological samplingepiphyteIllumina |
| spellingShingle | Abigail Robison Mikele Baugh Lucia Muggia Steven D. Leavitt Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau Conservation amplicon sequencing biodiversity biomonitoring ecological sampling epiphyte Illumina |
| title | Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau |
| title_full | Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau |
| title_short | Fruticose Lichen Communities at the Edge: Distribution and Diversity in a Desert Sky Island on the Colorado Plateau |
| title_sort | fruticose lichen communities at the edge distribution and diversity in a desert sky island on the colorado plateau |
| topic | amplicon sequencing biodiversity biomonitoring ecological sampling epiphyte Illumina |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7159/2/4/37 |
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