Cataloging the diversity of life is an enormous task. Of the 30 million species inhabiting this planet, only 2 million have been described. With a decreasing number of taxonomists, the researchers who discover and describe species, traditional approaches are not sufficient for this task. This project implements a novel approach to monographic work, that is cataloging all species of a group of organisms, in this case Graphidaceae, the largest family of lichenized fungi in the tropics, with close to 2000 species. The ATM concept, Assembling a Taxonomic Monograph, brings together the largest possible group of researchers from all continents. The goal is a series of monographs covering the entire family on a global scale.
The project combines traditional methods of morphological taxonomy with the latest advances in evolutionary research and includes a strong training and outreach component that feeds into the Encyclopedia of Life. By integration of a large group of researchers around the globe, the project works towards unified concepts that will receive broad acceptance among the scientific community and beyond. Modern electronic tools and web dissemination make the data broadly accessible and their incorporation into the Encyclopedia of Life addresses the increased public interest in biodiversity research.
This project is part of a 10-year effort to digitize and mobilize the scientific information associated with biological specimens held in U.S. research collections. The images and digitized data from this project will be integrated into the online national resource as outlined in the community strategic plan available at http://digbiocol.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/digistratplanfinaldraft.pdf.
Lichen forming fungi are one of the most successful nutritional forms of fungi, with nearly 20,000 species. They play an important role in ecosystem function, as pioneer organisms involved in soil formation, as buffers of atmospheric humidity in the vegetation, and as providers of fixed nitrogen. Extreme ecosystems such as cold and coastal deserts are dominated by lichen communities. Lichens are used as bioindicators of atmospheric pollution and of the conservation status of forest ecosystems, and are of interest in pharmaceutical research, due to their rich secondary compounds. Graphidaceae is the second largest family of lichen fungi, with 2,500 species, and its members dominate lichen communities in tropical forest ecosystems. Members of this family are excellent indicators of ecological continuity in tropical regions and have a complex and often unique secondary chemistry. This project undertook a complete systematic revision of this important family, in order to provide a solid base for advanced and applied studies in biodiversity research, tropical forest conservation, and drug screening. The study was based on a thorough molecular revision including several hundred species, and as a result, four subfamilies, six tribes, dozens of genera, and over 300 species were newly recognized for the group to date. We employed advanced methods such as molecular clock studies to place the evolution of the family in the context of the early evolution of tropical rain forest in the Jurassic and the formation of coastal deserts such as the the Atacama. We also employed a protocol to assess the effectiveness of tropical forest restauration methods in Costa Rica using these lichens as bioindicators. In a collaborative study, we found that certain lichens in this family produce rare and unique chemical substances in culture that act as powerful antioxidants. Our studies included many novel methodological approaches that are now used as models for similar studies in other organisms. As a consequence, we now have a deep and solid understanding of the evolution of this very speciose fungal lineage. One of the key outcomes of this study is a new method of predicting global species richness that suggests that even with the efforts made during this project, over 1,800 species still remain undiscovered in this family, raising the total number of species to over 4,300. Results from this project were published in over 50 scientific papers and presented at various international meetings and included over 20 co-authors from our international network of scientific collaborators. We also trained a substantial number of students and professionals both national and internationally through courses, workshops and thesis supervision. The project had, and continues to have, broader impact at many levels. A key outcome is the continued development of scientific capacity in numerous countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Thus, as part of this project, we saw substantial grow in the number of scientific expertise in tropical lichenology over the past years in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the Philippines. Tools provided through this project also increased the knowledge of these lichen fungi in North America considerably, specifically in the Southeast and the West Coast. Student and specifically intern training was an integral part of the project and we trained a larger number of high school and undergraduate interns throughout the project in both methodological aspects and in the biology and systematics of these lichen fungi, including two very successful REU programs. Besides scientific papers, results from the project are being disseminated using dedicated online tools and social media, such as a project website and Facebook posts. Both PIs are also very active in public outreach projects, including regular museum events such as the Annual Members Night, Meet a Scientist and, recently, an upcoming exhibit on lichens in the museum focusing on research performed at the museum. Both PIs also contributed substantially to a recent issue of the popular Fungi Magazine, the most popular magazine of its nature related to mycology and lichenology and dedicated to both amateurs and professionals. That issue was entirely dedicated to lichen fungi, with the goal to raise awareness about these organisms in the public, and the project PIs contributed four major articles to this issue.
