Article
Plant Sciences
Hiroshi Masumoto, William B. Sanders
Summary: Rhizonema is an important cyanobacterial partner in lichen symbioses, showing considerable morphological flexibility with multiple modes of branching possible in a single strain. While true branching or non-transverse divisions may help distinguish Rhizonema from phenotypically similar Scytonema, false branching occurs commonly in both genera.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Julie Rostan, Suzannah-Lynn Billing, John Doran, Adam Hughes
Summary: Seaweed aquaculture, particularly for biofuels, is a growing industry with a generally positive perception. However, future social license to operate (SLO) will depend on factors such as environmental impact, respect for local communities, and a truthful relationship with developers. The scale of exploitation is crucial in shaping perceptions, and companies must consider community and environmental effects, as well as engage in dialogue tailored to the local context.
ENERGY RESEARCH & SOCIAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Orla Shortall
Summary: This paper explores the lessons learned from bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) eradication schemes in Scotland and Ireland and applies the theoretical framework of co-productive governance to analyze stakeholder views. The results highlight the importance of clear goal narratives, engaging all actors, basing decisions on scientific research, and industry-government collaboration in achieving biosecurity goals.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Rasmus Erlandsson, Jarle W. Bjerke, Eirik A. Finne, Ranga B. Myneni, Shilong Piao, Xuhui Wang, Tarmo Virtanen, Aleksi Rasanen, Timo Kumpula, Tiina H. M. Kolari, Teemu Tahvanainen, Hans Tommervik
Summary: Ground-dwelling lichens play a significant role in carbon and nitrogen cycling, albedo, biodiversity, and biomass in high-latitude ecosystems, yet their biomass has been difficult to accurately assess. A new remote sensing model based on deep neural networks has been developed in this study to predict lichen biomass, providing a powerful tool for ecosystem research and rangeland management.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. Harrington, R. O. Sullivan, A. Hamilton, R. Lord, K. Torrance, A. Wijdeveld, T. Debuigne, E. Masson, B. Batel
Summary: This paper introduces a regionally downscaled economic model developed to assess the impacts of sediment management on GDP and job creation, validated and applied using real project data. The model provides significant insights into the economic aspects of sediment management projects, facilitating stakeholders and decision-makers across the sector with potential benefits.
JOURNAL OF SOILS AND SEDIMENTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sing-how Tuo, Margaret R. Mulholland, Yukiko Taniuchi, Houng-Yung Chen, Wann-Neng Jane, Yen-Huei Lin, Yuh-ling Lee Chen
Summary: Calothrix rhizosoleniae and Richelia intracelularis are heterocystous cyanobacteria found in tropical oceans that have shorter trichome lengths compared to other marine filamentous cyanobacteria. The trichome lengths of these species in the South China Sea and Philippine Sea were influenced by their diatom hosts' symbiotic styles and ambient nutrients, with potential implications for their buoyancy regulation and distribution in the euphotic zone.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
A. Elizabeth Arnold
Summary: An intriguing new study uses newly generated metagenomes to study the evolution of fungi, specifically focusing on lichens, which are one of the most species-rich and fascinating manifestations of symbiosis.
Article
Business
Robin J. C. Adams, Gareth Campbell, Christopher Coyle, John D. D. Turner
Summary: Political instability, particularly concerning the prospect of devolved government, had a detrimental effect on business formation in Ireland compared to Scotland, with the Northern region being the most affected.
BUSINESS HISTORY REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Marco A. Jimenez-Gonzalez, Nathali Machado de Lima, Angela M. Chilton, Gonzalo Almendros, Miriam Munoz-Rojas
Summary: The study found that inoculated cyanobacterial consortia can improve soil chemical properties, promote the formation of artificial soil biocrust, and enhance habitability without significantly affecting native bacterial communities in the short term.
Article
Political Science
Lesley-Ann Daniels, Alexander Kuo
Summary: This study examines the impact of Brexit on territorial preferences within the UK, finding that Brexit increases support for Scottish independence but has little effect on Northern Ireland due to the strong correlation between territorial views and religious background in the region. The research contributes to the literature on decentralization processes and the EU by demonstrating when negative shocks can influence territorial preferences.
PUBLIUS-THE JOURNAL OF FEDERALISM
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qiuheng Zhu, Li Wu, Guowen Li, Xiaoguang Li, Chen Zhao, Caili Du, Fan Wang, Wei Li, Lieyu Zhang
Summary: Cultivating desert cyanobacteria in wastewater has the potential to redistribute resources efficiently and address global issues of wastewater pollution and desertification. Although wastewater may depress the Chl-a content of the cyanobacteria, it does not affect biomass accumulation or subsequent photosynthetic recovery after long-term storage, highlighting its significant potential as a new nutrient redistribution method in human settlements and desert areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Primary Health Care
Philip W. Stone, Katherine Hickman, Steve Holmes, Johanna R. Feary, Jennifer K. Quint
Summary: The quality of COPD primary care in Wales is better than in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in terms of recording lung function parameters and referring patients for pulmonary rehabilitation. Conducting national audits of primary care in Wales may have led to improvements in care quality and accurate recording of that care, highlighting the potential importance of audit.
NPJ PRIMARY CARE RESPIRATORY MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Naresh Kumar, Aniket Saraf, Sagarika Pal, Deeksha Mishra, Prashant Singh, Jeffrey R. R. Johansen
Summary: This passage discusses the isolation and characterization of three novel strains in the Calotrichaceae family from tropical habitats. The strains were studied for their morphology, phylogenetic placement, and secondary structures of conserved domains in the 16S-23S ITS. Two clades were identified, with the first clade named Fulbrightiella and consisting of two species, F. bharadwajae and F. oahuensis. The second clade was named Sherwoodiella and consisted of a single species, Sherwoodiella mauiensis. The finding and sequencing of the generitype for Calothrix remains an important and unfinished task in revising the Calotrichaceae.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gar W. Rothwell, Michael T. Dunn, Andrew C. Scott
Summary: The study developed an organismal concept for the Late Devonian/Mississippian hydrasperman seed fern Tetrastichia bupatides based on specimens collected in Scotland and Ireland. The plant features unique characteristics such as branched taproots, different types of phyllotaxis, pollen organs, and ovules.
REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rebecca Finger-Higgens, Michael C. Duniway, Stephen Fick, Erika L. Geiger, David L. Hoover, Alix A. Pfennigwerth, Matthew W. Van Scoyoc, Jayne Belnap
Summary: This study examines the long-term effects of environmental variation and Bromus tectorum invasion on biocrust communities in a temperate dryland. The results show that climate change plays a key role in the decline of lichens, while mosses increase in cover following the invasion. The study suggests that warming may erode decades of disturbance protection and have long-term implications for temperate dryland ecosystems.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ricardo Miranda-Gonzalez, Andre Aptroot, Robert Lueking, Adam Flakus, Alejandrina Barcenas-Pena, Maria de los Angeles Herrera-Campos
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrew J. Marshall, Dan J. Blanchon, Robert Luecking, Theo J. P. de Lange, Peter J. de Lange
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2020)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hanna Lindgren, Bibiana Moncada, Robert Luecking, Nicolas Magain, Antoine Simon, Bernard Goffinet, Emmanuel Serusiaux, Matthew P. Nelsen, Joel A. Mercado-Diaz, Todd J. Widhelm, H. Thorsten Lumbsch
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jung-Jae Woo, Robert Luecking, Seung-Yoon Oh, Yong-Chull Jeun, Jae-Seoun Hur
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Manuela Dal Forno, James D. Lawrey, Masoumeh Sikaroodi, Patrick M. Gillevet, Eric Schuettpelz, Robert Lucking
Summary: Recent studies have revealed remarkable diversity in Dictyonema s.lat. basidiolichens, with photobionts belonging to Rhizonema. Analysis of 765 new cyanobacterial sequences from 635 specimens collected from 18 countries identified three main divisions of Rhizonema, showing no evidence of photobiont-mycobiont co-speciation. Molecular clock estimations suggest that Rhizonema species are older than fungal species in Dictyonemateae, supporting the hypothesis of lichens representing fungal farmers.
Article
Ecology
Paola Martinez Colin, Robert Luecking, Maria de los Angeles Herrera-Campos
Summary: The study found that the diversity of host plants has a significant impact on the diversity of foliicolous lichen communities, particularly showing a preference for leaves with longer lifespan. Therefore, ecosystems with more diverse suitable host plants will support a greater diversity of foliicolous lichens, extending to epiphytes in general.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Bibiana Moncada, Joel A. Mercado-Diaz, Nicolas Magain, Brendan P. Hodkinson, Clifford W. Smith, Frank Bungartz, Rosa-Emilia Perez-Perez, Emerson Gumboski, Emmanuel Serusiaux, H. Thorsten Lumbsch, Robert Luecking
Summary: In this study, diversification in two tropical, morphologically similar lichen species was investigated, with the low-altitude species showing low diversification likely due to rapid dispersal and gene flow, while the high-altitude species exhibited high diversification possibly caused by niche differentiation and fragmentation effects from geological movements.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Mycology
Karina Wilk, Maciej Pabijan, Marta Saluga, Ester Gaya, Robert Lucking
Summary: This study investigated the poorly studied Teloschistaceae family members in South America, identifying three new genera and proposing three new combinations, while also revising the subfamily Brownlielloideae and confirming recent findings about its classification.
Article
Ecology
Mariasole Calbi, Francisco Fajardo-Gutierrez, Juan Manuel Posada, Robert Lucking, Grischa Brokamp, Thomas Borsch
Summary: This study characterized the plant communities of high Andean forest remnants in the hinterland of Bogota and found that an increase in human-related disturbance results in lower phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic clustering of woody vegetation, and lower aboveground biomass, while understory vegetation shows higher diversity and phylogenetic dispersion with disturbance. Key predictors of disturbance include edge effect, proximity of cattle, minimum fragment age, and median patch size, with aboveground biomass being efficiently predicted by the proportion of late successional species.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Bibiana Moncada, Joel A. Mercado-Diaz, Clifford W. Smith, Frank Bungartz, Emmanuel Serusiaux, H. Thorsten Lumbsch, Robert Luecking
Summary: Sticta is a subcosmopolitan genus with the greatest diversity in the tropics. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that the S. weigelii morphodeme actually represents several species, with high phenotypic and genetic variation. Two new species and one new subspecies within this morphodeme have been described, with broad distribution in the Neotropics and Hawaii. The species show differences in habitat preference and genetic diversity.
Article
Microbiology
Vinodhini Thiyagaraja, Robert Luecking, Damien Ertz, Samantha C. Karunarathna, Dhanushka N. Wanasinghe, Saisamorn Lumyong, Kevin D. Hyde
Summary: Ostropales sensu lato is a large group of fungi, including both lichenized and non-lichenized species, with optional lichenization. The order has undergone frequent taxonomic changes and is currently divided into multiple families. Stictidaceae, a family within this order, contains many poorly known species with unresolved taxonomy, and new species have been identified through genetic and morphological analyses. Ancestral character state analysis suggests that Stictidaceae likely had a saprotrophic ancestor, and frequent transitions between nutritional modes played a significant role in the evolution of this family.
Article
Ecology
Edvaneide Leandro de Lima Nascimento, Leonor Costa Maia, Marcela Eugenia da Silva Caceres, Robert Luecking
Summary: Major vegetation units in North and Northeast Brazil include Amazon, Atlantic forest, Brejos de Altitude, Caatinga, Carrasco, Cerradao and Restinga. Little is known about lichen metacommunity structure in these habitats. Different tree bark structures and climatic factors can have a filtering effect on the richness and phylogenetic structure of epiphytic lichen communities in different vegetation types.
ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Robert Lucking, M. Catherine Aime, Barbara Robbertse, Andrew N. Miller, Takayuki Aoki, Hiran A. Ariyawansa, Gianluigi Cardinali, Pedro W. Crous, Irina S. Druzhinina, David M. Geiser, David L. Hawksworth, Kevin D. Hyde, Laszlo Irinyi, Rajesh Jeewon, Peter R. Johnston, Paul M. Kirk, Elaine Malosso, Tom W. May, Wieland Meyer, Henrik R. Nilsson, Maarja Opik, Vincent Robert, Marc Stadler, Marco Thines, Duong Vu, Andrey M. Yurkov, Ning Zhang, Conrad L. Schoch
Summary: Identifying and naming microfungi, especially plant, animal, and human pathogens, remains a challenge. Molecular identification is increasingly used, and environmental metabarcoding is generating a vast amount of sequence data to document global fungal diversity. Solutions for naming taxa known only from sequences are proposed based on bacterial taxonomy methods.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Robert Luecking
Summary: Peter D. Crittenden served as the senior editor of The Lichenologist from 2000 to 2019, overseeing significant editorial changes and increasing the journal's impact factor. The 1197 papers published during his tenure matched the total number of papers published by the three previous editors combined, suggesting his impactful contributions to the field of lichenological research.
Article
Plant Sciences
Bibiana Moncada, Clifford W. Smith, Robert Luecking
Summary: The taxonomy of Sticta in Hawaii was reevaluated based on molecular phylogeny. Thirteen taxa were classified, including 12 species and one subspecies previously identified in a phylogenetic analysis. The implications of revised species taxonomies on other research fields and an environmental health monitoring protocol for Hawaiian ecosystems using Sticta lichens were discussed.