Project:

To what extent does moisture of a lichen's environment affect the size of a lichen's thallus?

Students:

Ellis Rosenberg, Eden Cunningham, Stella Green, Isabella Underwood

School:

Portledge School, Nassau

Mentors:

Carolyn Chiu

Abstract:

All members of the Lichen species are composed of an algae and fungal component. Additionally, they all contain a thallus that houses the lichen’s mycobiont (fungal component). The thallus is responsible for collecting minerals and water for the lichen. By design, the lichen absorbs its environment into its structure, which is how it acquires materials. Depending on the lichen species, the thallus comes in many shapes and sizes and can be as small as a unicellular organism. We hypothesize that moisture content in a Lichen’s environment is a factor in the size of the lichen's thallus. We plan to gather lichen samples from a high-moisture environment, Sands Point Preserve, and a low-moisture environment, Bethpage State Park. By using DNA barcoding, we will gather data on the species of lichen and research the characteristics and dimensions of the species; for example, it a part of the foliose, fruticose or crustose group and what are the typical thallus sizes of these types of lichen

Poster:

Team samples: