{"id":539,"date":"2017-04-18T10:56:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T14:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mdocs.skidmore.edu\/crandallparktrees\/?page_id=539"},"modified":"2017-07-13T13:19:05","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T17:19:05","slug":"lichen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mdocs.skidmore.edu\/crandallparktrees\/ecosystem\/lichen\/","title":{"rendered":"Lichen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cladonia Lichens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Summary<\/h2>\n

Lichens are often mistaken as mosses or fungi but are their own group with thousands of species. Lichen are actually a fungus living closely with another organism (either algae or cyanobacteria). Lichens are also used as shelter or food by many animals including humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The Mutualistic Relationship<\/h2>\n

A lichen is made up of both a fungus and either algae or cyanobacteria (microscopic single celled organisms that can photosynthesize). The fungus acts like a trellis for either photosynthesizing teammate to grow on, while the algae or cyanobacteria turn sunlight into a shared food source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spotting a Lichen<\/h2>\n

Lichen grow on many surfaces; tree bark, rocks, and soil are common places. They come in a rainbow of colors\u00a0and an array of shapes including fruticose, foliose, and crustose. A\u00a0fruticose lichen grows up with thin bushy branches, a foliose lichen grows out with leaf-like structures, while a crustose lichen covers a surface like a crust.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Lichen Species<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Fruticose Lichen\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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Foliose Lichen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
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Crustose Lichens\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Hummingbird Nesting with Lichen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Ecology<\/h2>\n

Various animals, from microscopic mites to humans, use lichens as shelter or food. Salamanders, frogs, and lizards use lichen for camouflage while hummingbirds are known to use lichen for insulation when building their nests. In the cold tundra of the north herbivores rely on lichen to make it through the winter when plants are scarce. Small mammals in our area,\u00a0including flying squirrels and voles, also use lichens as food sources. Humans have even made bread out of lichen.<\/span><\/p>\n

A study in the Adirondack Mountains<\/u><\/a>, led by Heather Root, found that lichen can house a host of other organisms: the mites.\u00a0Mites are small animals related to ticks and spiders that have been found living in lichen in the canopies of trees. \u00a0The shape, texture, and even color\u00a0determines how many mites a lichen can support. The mites are so small that they are affected by the miniscule changes in climate between living under a leaf of a foliose lichen verse in the cracks of a crustose lichen or living on a light green lichen versus a black one. The levels of moisture can differ depending on the lichen's shape, and the heat absorbed from sunlight can differ depending on the color. Root found that a foliose lichen can\u00a0support a mite population seven times larger than bare tree bark.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Interesting\u00a0Facts<\/h2>\n