Message - 7th IAL Symposium

The 7 th International Association for Lichenology Symposium 2012
(3B-1 – O2) Submission ID: IAL0103-00003
THE POWER OF ITS: USING MEGAPHYLOGENIES OF BARCODING GENES TO REVEAL
INCONSISTENCIES IN TAXONOMIC IDENTIFICATIONS OF GENBANK SUBMISSIONS
Lücking R. 1 , Kalb K. J. 2 , Essene A. 3
1 Botany, The Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois, United States
2 Lichenologisches Institut Neumarkt, Neumarkt, Germany
3 West College, Oberlin, Ohio, United States
We take advantage of a novel method (PICS-Ord) of recoding ambiguously aligned sequence portions
in genes with variable length to assemble multiple fixed alignments of ITS sequences across large groups of
taxa and analyze them using a mixed model for DNA and code partitions under maximum likelihood in RAxML.
This approach allows to simultaneously align and analyze all ITS sequences of a given family and that way
detecting potential problems in taxonomic identifications of GenBank submissions, as well as testing genus and
species concepts. While this methodology will not recover the backbone of a family-level clade with confidence
(since ITS is too variable for that purpose), it will recover supported genus and species clades. Recoding ambiguously
aligned regions which otherwise would have to be removed prior to analysis add a substantial amount
of resolution and support to the analysis. The method was applied to two large families of lichenized fungi, Parmeliaceae
with roughly 1800 OTUs and Physciaceae with roughly 700 OTUs currently available. It was found
that a substantial portion of submitted sequences have problems in terms of taxonomic identification. Some of
these are clear misidentifications at species or even genus level, whereas others are caused by inappropriate
taxonomic concepts. In one case, the resulting pattern suggests gene duplication as the reason for incongruence
between topology and taxonomy. We suggest to using this approach routinely to screen large taxonomic
groups and detect problematic sequence submissions. Unfortunately, GenBank currently lacks a system where
submissions can be annotated by third parties if a problem is detected, and we urge that this problem be solved
as soon as possible.
(3B-1-O3) Submission ID: IAL0160-00002
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NATURA 2000 NETWORK IN PROTECTING MEDITERRANEAN
LICHEN SPECIES
Rubio-Salcedo M. 1 , Martínez I. 1 , Carreño F. 1
1 Biology and Geology, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Mostoles, Madrid, Spain
In the last few years, there have been an increasing number of studies on species distribution modeling.
However, knowledge on the potential distribution of ‘non-charismatic’ species is still very scarce. In this
study, we determined potential distribution patterns for 18 lichen species in Spain and evaluated the effectiveness
of the Natura 2,000 network in protecting them. Models were implemented with ENFA (Ecological-Niche
Factor Analysis), using presence-only data. Habitat suitability maps were obtained for each species and high
suitability areas were characterized using 10 environmental variables. High-suitability area maps were overlaid
with the Natura 2,000 network cover, considering the three different biogeographical regions present in mainland
Spain. The studied species presented habitat requirements different from average conditions in Spain, and most
of them had narrow ecological niches. Environmental constrictors were different for each model. The marginality
axis was mainly linked to altitudinal variables, whereas the specialization axis was essentially related to
summer precipitation and drought period. The effectiveness of the Natura 2,000 was quite low in most species.
The analysis per region showed that Mediterranean lichen species growing in forests are better protected than
species found in coastal, drier and warmer areas. Our results indicate that the Natura 2,000 network, a protection
system based on vascular plants, does not guarantee the protection of Mediterranean lichen species. Thus,
this type of gap analysis and especially the inclusion of “non-charismatic” organisms such as lichens should be
considered in studies to define protected areas.
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3B-1-O