Techniques & Methods
Broadly, we use six interconnected realms of knowledge to recognize, study, classify and name lichens:
- Partner identity: what type of fungi, algae and other organisms form the lichen thallus?
- Morphology: what growth form is the thallus? What types of vegetative and sexual reproductive structures are present?
- Anatomy: what tissue types are present? How are the hyphae organized with relation to the photobiont?
- Chemistry: chemistry and photobiont together produce a lichen’s color. Secondary metabolites play a host of additional functions. We use color, spot tests, thin layer chromatography, and more advanced laboratory techniques to examine a lichen’s chemistry.
- Genetics: increasingly we use genetic barcoding loci, protein-coding gene segments, or genomic-level molecular data to classify lichens into species, genera, and higher taxonomic levels.
- Ecology: what substrate, microclimate, or climatic niche does the lichen occupy?
Here we provide a few tips and tutorials to help you characterize these realms.
