We investigated habitat attributes related to the occupancy of the globally rare and endangered epiphytic lichen, Erioderma pedicellatum, in a newly discovered (2009) population center in Denali National Park and Preserve (DNPP), Alaska. We measured forest, tree and epiphytic lichen community characteristics on eighty-five systematically selected plots in four study areas. We aggregated these data at three spatial scales (tree, plot and study area) at which to compare E. pedicellatum occupancy (probability of occurrence) and abundance to environmental covariates. We observed 2,035 E. pedicellatum thalli on 278 individual Picea glauca stems. The species occurred in 61% of the plots measured. Occupancy of E. pedicellatum at the individual tree-scale was influenced by stem diameter, study area, live crown length, plot P. glauca basal area, plot canopy cover and distance to open water. Our models for E. pedicellatum occupancy at the plot-scale identified study area, P. glauca density, deciduous basal area (Betula neoalaskana and Populus trichocarpa), and tall shrub cover (≥ 200 cm in height) as significant covariates. Our estimates of the DNPP population size increase the world population by at least tenfold to approximately 100,000 thalli. We suggest important topics for further research on E. pedicellatum.

The group of Leptogium species with spherical-celled hairs (i.e., sect Mallotium) is revised and identification keys for fertile and sterile specimens are provided based on morphological and anatomical characteristics. Apothecial tissues are important in species differentiation and are related to the type of columnar hyphae of the thallus. Mallotium species can be readily differentiated by the surface morphology, architecture of the hairs, the type and distribution of isidia and lobules, the columnar hyphae, and features of apothecial tissues. The thallus of L. inflexum lacks marginal lacinulae, but was retained in synonymy with L. burgessii, whereas L. ethiopicum was distinguished from L. burgessii. Leptogium nylanderi is a new name for L. inflexum var. isidiosulum. The new species L. mantiqueirense is described from southeastern Brazil.

Summarized are results of field studies of small, cushion-forming species of Grimmia in high altitude mountain areas of New York State, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, and of associated research with herbarium specimens from these regions. We here report eight species. Grimmia anodon is added to the flora of the Northeast, and new records and clarifications are presented for G. donniana, G. incurva, G. longirostris, G. milleri, G. sessitana, and G. trichophylla. Collections of these species came from rock types of varying composition (calcareous to acidic), sometimes different vegetation, and varying altitudinal ranges. In spite of these advancements in knowledge, Grimmia of the northeastern United States remains incompletely understood, taxonomically and ecologically.

Harvesting of fog water by epiphytes is biomechanically analogous to filter-feeding by aquatic invertebrates. Increased branchiness, as measured by fractal dimensionality, should reflect greater fog-harvesting ability. We documented changes in epiphytic macrolichens across an altitudinal gradient in fog availability in a coastal shrubland in northern Chile. Fruticose and foliose genera appear to become more abundant with increased fog availability. Fractal dimension of fruticose and foliose lichens increased significantly with inferred fog availability. The adaptive morphology of lichens is under-studied, and insights from theoretical morphology of other organisms yield fruitful hypotheses for further studies.

Shoots of Aloina bifrons were regenerated from four herbarium specimens collected from theAmerican southwest, ranging in age from 4 to 12 years old, subcultured to remove field effects, and grown in Petri dishes on native sand for 238 days (70–90 days after gametangial maturation). Rhizautoicy was demonstrated in three of the four genotypes. Plants were protandrous in gametangial development and in time to maturation, although overlap occurred where both sexes were producing mature gametes. Roughly twice as many perigonia were produced than perichaetia. Female shoots were larger than male shoots, yet devoted much less than male shoots to prefertilization reproductive investment. Adjusted to culture area, investment into reproduction on a prefertilization basis was about ten times greater for male function than for female function. Self-fertilization within a single clonal line was accomplished, but sporophytes did not develop beyond the embryonic phenophase. The clonal lines used appear to be self-incompatible, although it is possible that the sporophyte requires a resting phase, colder temperatures, or desiccation in order to complete development.

Cheilolejeunea laciniata sp. nov. (Lejeuneaceae) from Southeastern Brazil is described and illustrated. The species is easily recognized by the dentate to laciniate leaf margins, a feature present only in two other species of Cheilolejeunea, C. norisiae from Panama and Cuba, and C. lacerata from Brazil. A key summarizing the differences of the three species is presented.

Infra-specific variation in phenotypes of bryophytes is rarely shown to be spatially or ecologically structured. By using a morphometrics approach based on more than 2,300 measurements of nine gametophyte characters taken from 63 specimens across the global range of Syrrhopodon leprieurii Mont. (Calymperaceae), we demonstrate through partial and total Mantel analyses that phenotypes vary significantly over distance and elevation. Furthermore, S. leprieurii specimens of montane and spatially isolated (island) regions (such as the Andes and Cuba) exhibit disproportionately greater morphological differentiation over relatively shorter distances when compared to those from lowland rainforests of the greater Amazon basin. Structured morphological variation among bryophyte populations is uncommon and we suggest that, in light of results from studies of other Neotropical plant taxa, more pronounced differentiation in niche structure in this region may account for such variability.

This study was an investigation of epiphytic lichen communities in mid-rotation (45 to 55 years old) managed stands of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and black spruce (Picea mariana) in northern Ontario. Lichen community structure was compared between pine and spruce stands, and relationships between community structure and environment (substrate, microclimate, and stand-level parameters) were explored. We also assessed habitat associations of lichens with differing growth forms and functional traits. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling was used to analyze community structure, and results showed that differences between pine and spruce stands were most strongly related to stand basal area and light levels, but were also associated with other factors such as branch diameter. In addition, distinct differences in occurrence patterns between functional groups were observed, with fruticose lichens more common in pine stands, and asexual foliose lichens more common in spruce stands. This study represents the first detailed examination of epiphytic lichen community composition in boreal plantation forests in North America. Our results suggest that the conifer species chosen to regenerate a harvested stand will influence epiphytic lichen communities, which may have further implications for ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, and for wildlife species dependent on lichens, such as woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou).