Trial Lecture
Title: "The importance of biological soil crusts: development and succession, ecological and organismal diversity, threats and conservation"
Time and place: May 27, 2025, 14:15 AM, Nucleus, Bikuben, Kristine Bonnevies hus
Join the Trial Lecture and Defence on Zoom
Public Defence
Adjudication Committee
- Associate Professor, Lucia Muggia, Bews Herbarium, Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy
- Collection Manager of Lichens and Digital Data, Dr. Frank Bungartz, Biodiversity Knowlegde Integration Center, Arizona State University, USA
- Professor Hans Arne Nakrem, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway
Chair of the Defence
- Professor Jan T. Lifjeld, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway
Supervisors
- Professor Einar Timdal, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway
- Dr. Klara Scharnagl, University Herbarium, University of California Berkeley, USA
- Professor James Speed, Department of Natural History, NTNU University Museum, Norway
Summary
The Natural History Museum (NHM) in Oslo holds the biggest collection of scientific specimens in Norway. Among these restricted rooms is one of the largest lichen collections in the world with a treasure trove of Norwegian and global biodiversity.
We used these specimens, and loans from other international collections, to assess the diversity of lichens in the order Lecanorales. We investigated both long standing and recently discovered species using integrative taxonomy. Thus, we combined molecular, morphological, and spatial tools.
We found that the current names for the fungal species do not properly represent the existing diversity of lichens in the genera Rhizoplaca and Psora. To better align the names and distinct lineages, we described seven new species, resurrected a species name, described a new family, and established a new type specimen for an existing name. Further, we assessed the diversity of symbiotic algae, finding Myrmecia or Trebouxia associated with many of the Psora specimens. In this process, we updated species distribution maps and found significant phylogenetic endemism in the California and Baja California regions of North America. Here, they make up the biodiversity of critically endangered soil crust communities. Our work contributes to understanding and conserving the global diversity of lichens in the Lecanorales, especially in the Psoraceae.
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