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Lichen Hunter

Even amid a massive die-off of life on Earth that鈥檚 been called 鈥渢he sixth extinction,鈥� scientists continue to discover new species. CU-Boulder biologist Erin Tripp recently found two previously unknown species of lichens 鈥� in the same location in the same week. She was participating in a joint lichen inventory at Boulder鈥檚 White Rocks Nature Preserve with the City of Boulder鈥檚 Open Space and Mountain Parks Program.

Can we safely say you were pleased?

I am always pleased when I鈥檓 in the field collecting lichens or plants. Life really doesn鈥檛 get any better than spending a day with 鈥榚ndless forms, most beautiful,鈥� in Darwin鈥檚 words. Biologists create our own adventure.

How did these lichens catch your eye?

Chance had it that the first rock I wandered towards hosted a curious lichen with a thick white thallus and raised, black fruiting bodies. From about five feet away I honed in on this curiosity. Later I happened to pause near a sandstone formation while my graduate student Vanessa D铆az (MMusm鈥�16) was photographing a Xanthoparmelia. I glanced down between my feet and noticed a beautiful crustose species with a chartreuse thallus. I suspected both [lichens] were special, perhaps unknown to science, and I was right.

What is a lichen, by the way?

A lichen is a symbiotic relationship between a minimum of two unrelated organisms, primarily a fungus and a green alga. But lichens often host a diversity of other organisms too 鈥� they鈥檙e a microcosm and a source for evolutionary innovation. They are most commonly confused with mosses. Here in baby直播app, lichens are everywhere!

How did you determine the lichens you found were new species?

Finding new species of anything biological comes with several prerequisites, in particular a long history of studying a group of organisms in detail. Reaching a point where one feels confident enough to describe a new species is by no means a trivial process: It takes a lot of work, a lot of experience, a lot of grit and a lot of drive to learn and keep learning.

Are there lots of species?

There are about 20,000 named lichens and thousands more to be described. No lichenologist has ever fully treated the lichens of baby直播app, but my guess is that there are at least 1,500 species present in the state.

How did you get interested in them?

I first started noticing lichens while working on my undergraduate degree in biology at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. I am a huge fan of the southern Appalachians 鈥� a refuge for biodiversity and general happiness in North America. Lichens are majorly understudied and underappreciated. Lucky for us, lichens are also extremely diverse and abundant in baby直播app. Curiously, lichens are perhaps more poorly understood in baby直播app than in just about any other state.

Tell us more about these newest lichens. What did you name them and how did you pick the names?

The names came to me almost instantaneously! I named Lecidea hoganii after Tim Hogan and Candelariella clarkiae after Dina Clark. Tim and Dina are the two collections managers of the University of baby直播app Herbarium. The new Lecidea is 鈥榙ark and complex, but a little rosy on the inside,鈥� sort of like Tim鈥檚 personality, whereas the new Candelariella is 鈥榖right and sunny,鈥� just like Dina鈥檚 disposition.

And what did you do with the new ones you found?聽

I accessioned them into our museum. There they will 鈥榣ive鈥� comfortably in perpetuity with other 鈥榯ype specimens鈥� 鈥� specimens selected to serve as a reference point of sorts for the species.

You said there are many other lichen species awaiting discovery鈥�

Absolutely and without doubt! There are appallingly few scientists who are actively working on lichens. Here in western North America I can count those individuals on one hand. Such a small number of practicing professionals makes for slow progress, but also high potential for discovery. I predict no fewer than 50 (and probably closer to 100) species of lichens new to science right here in baby直播app.

How do you keep yourself busy when you鈥檙e not hunting for lichens?

When I can piece together time to do other things, it usually involves items such as trail runners, topo maps, benchmarks, racquets, power tools, binoculars, derailleurs, pressure cookers or some really, really great lines of poetry.

Condensed and edited.

Photography聽by Patrick Campbell