Coastal Lichens

I have been on the coast a lot this summer. This last weekend I led a lichen workshop at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. The campus is a wonderful place to review the diversity of these organisms.  Many people know that lichens are a mixture of fungi and algae, but new data also shows that yeast, another group of fungi, are almost always involved and there can be more than one type of algae involved.  Trebouxia is the most common algae followed by two slightly less common algae species, then followed by another 15 or species, and finally followed by 85 or so algae species that occasionally seem to help create lichenized fungi.  So, for every unique species of fungus in the lichen relationship there can one or more common-to-rare algae in the partnership, along with yeast.

The species above is Menegazzia terebrata, a lichen that have inflated lobes (they are like a balloon) and the lobes have distinct black holes in places on the top surface.  Below is the list of the other common species we saw on the campus. This fall the Northwest Lichenologists working group is visiting OIMB and so a revised list will certainly be coming out after that meeting.

OIMB Campus Lichens

1. Alectoria sarmentosa/vancouverenis
2. Cetraria (Tuckermanopsis) chlorophylla
3. Cladonia umbricola
4. Cladonia macilenta/transcendens
5. Cladonia squamosa
6. Graphis scripta
7. Hypogymnia enteromorpha
8. Hypogymnia heterophylla
9. Hypogymnia inactiva
10. Hypogymnia occidentalis
11. Hypogymnia physodes
12. Lecanora pacifica
13. Melanelia sp.
14. Menegazzia terebrata
15. Ochrolechia laevigata
16. Ochrolechia juvenalis
17. Ochrolechia oregonensis
18. Parmelia sulcata
19. Parmotrema crinitum
    
20. Parmotrema arnoldii (UV+ medulla)
21. Parmotrema chinense
22. Parmotrema crinitum
23. Peltigera membranacea
24. Pertursaria amara/opthalmiza
25. Ramalina menziesii
26. Ramalina thrausta
27. Ramalina dilacerata
28. Ramalina farinacea
29. Ramalina roesleri
30. Ramalina supleptocarpha
31. Sticta limbata
32. Usnea cornuta
33. Usnea flavocardia
34. Usnea fragilescens
    
35. Usnea glabrata
36. Usnea longissima
37. Usnea rubicunda
38. Usnea silesiaca
39. Usnea scabrata
40. Usnea subfloridana
41. Xanthoparmelia cf. cumberlandii

Lichens in bold were common on the campus.