Abstract Detail

Bryology and Lichenology

Dorval, Hanna [1].

From Temperate Forest to Arctic Tundra: Lichens and Allied Fungi of Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario.

The northwest region of Ontario, especially the area adjacent to the northern shoreline of Lake Superior, is thought to harbor a particularly interesting community of lichens. However, few intensive studies have been completed to confirm this suspicion. Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, located within this region, is most notable for the spectacular canyon feature found within its boundary. The steep walls of the canyon limit sunlight exposure and perpetuate post-glacial conditions, providing habitat for biological communities that are rare this far south and greatly disjuncted from their contiguous range. This Master’s thesis attempts to detail the unique and interesting lichen community found within this provincial park and helps close the large gaps in the biogeographic knowledge of lichens within Ontario. Furthermore, this study provides a baseline which will prove useful in monitoring the disjuncted arctic-alpine flora of the canyon, a community considered particularly vulnerable to climate change. Arctic-alpine species, such as Arctoparmelia incurva (Pers.) Hale and Lecanora rupicola (L.) Zahlbr., are found growing alongside temperate-tropical species, including Leptogium corticola (Taylor) Tuck. and Parmotrema crinitum (Ach.) Choisy. Species not before reported from Ontario, including Brodoa oroarctica (Krog) Goward, and species not collected from the province for decades, such as Bilimbia lobulata (Sommerf.) Hafellner & Coppins, have been found occupying the various habitats in this protected area. Additionally, twenty-seven of the one hundred sixty-four species reported in this study are provincially-tracked, considered critically-imperiled to vulnerable, within the province of Ontario, suggesting that the conservation value of this small provincial park is very high.

1 - Lakehead University, Graduate Studies, Natural Resources Management, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B5E1, Canada

Keywords:
biogeography
conservation
protected area
arctic-alpine
canyon.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Bryology and Lichenology Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 6:15 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PBL010
Abstract ID:688
Candidate for Awards:None