| Abstract Detail
Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS Miranda, Ricardo [1], Luecking, Robert [2], Barcenas Peña, Alejandrina [3], Herrera-Campos, Maria A. [3]. Phorophyte Foliar Phenology and its Effect on the Lichen Community Composition on a Deciduous Tropical Forest, Mexico. The deciduous tropical forest is characterized by a strong phenological difference between the wet and dry seasons: almost all trees loose their leaves after the rainy season is over. As a consequence, the corticolous lichens that live there (mostly Pyrenulaceae, Roccellaceae, Graphidaceae, Arthoniaceae, and Thelotremataceae) are under direct sun exposure for almost six months per year. Different authors have concluded that the physical properties of the bark are very important in lichen community composition; however, in this study we try to emphasize the effect of the foliar phenology of the host. We compared the lichen community of five tree species, three of them having leaves in the wet season and loosing them in the dry season, while the other two species do exactly the opposite. Using a non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination analysis, we were able to show that the phorophytes Jacquinia nervosa and Forchhammeria pallida (both without leaves in the wet season) have a characteristic lichen community that differs not only from the other trees, but also from each other. Although it is true that not all the species with the same foliar phenology have the same lichen community structure, we can hypothesizes that this is an important factor that, altogether with bark properties, determines species composition and abundance of the corticolous lichens in the study area.
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1 - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Tercer Circuito Exterior, Cd. Universitaria,, México, D.F., 04510, México
2 - Field Museum of Natural Hististory, Department of Botany, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Roosevelt Rd At Lake Shore, Chicago, Illinois, 60605-2496, USA
3 - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Tercer Circuito Exterior, Cd. Universitaria, México, D.F., 04510, México
Keywords:
Tropical Lichens
Community composition
plant phenology.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for BSA Sections
Session: P1
Location: Event Tent/Cliff Lodge
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: P1BL009
Abstract ID:826 |
