Question on lichens

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Ken Ramos
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Question on lichens

Post by Ken Ramos »

Image

I have here what looks to be two different genera of lichen, one in the genus Parmelia the other maybe Tuckermannopsis, It appears as though the Tuckermannopsis (right) has tapped the thallus of the Parmelia (left) residing beside it (arrows), both share the same substrate, that of a twig from a Southern Yellow pine. Question, is this a common occurrence for lichens to do so? The reason I am asking is that I have never ran across this before or have not noticed it in observations past, to me it suggests a form of parasitism, maybe? If there are any lichenologists or maybe those aspiring to be, out there that could shed light on this, cool! If not, that’s okay. Thanks :)

Pau
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Post by Pau »

Just a guess, but IMO it maybe more likely competition (including chemical war) than parasitism, as competition for the substrate may be very important for lichens. (not lichenologist nor even amateur, but loving ecology)
In any case it's a very nice observation!

(Edited to change comptence for competition. Oh, my bad english :oops: )
Last edited by Pau on Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pau

Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

That could very well be, competition among species is always ongoing, however, I have always thought of lichens as being good natured towards one another, seems as though they share most substrates willingly. Thanks for your input there Pau :D

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

I don't know beans about lichens, but it's nice to see you here, Ken. :)

--Rik

Ken Ramos
Posts: 7208
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

Rik wrote:
I don't know beans about lichens, but it's nice to see you here, Ken.
Thanks Rik. I stop by from time to time to have a look around, seeing what's new. :D

It just occurred to me that, this may only be a support point for Tuckermannopsis and there is no robbing or exhange of nutrients at all. :-k

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