Abstract Detail

Bryology and Lichenology

Gonzalez-Ramirez, Ixchel [1], Mishler, Brent [2].

What do we know about Mexican liverworts?

Despite the great effort to establish an international agenda for understanding and protecting biodiversity, little attention has been focused on bryophytes. Historically, mosses have received the greatest attention among bryophytes, whereas liverworts and hornworts have been less studied in every biological perspective. In a recent estimate of liverwort species that attempts to correct for synonymy, Konrat et al. (2014) determined world liverwort diversity is around 7500 named species. Mexico is a biodiverse country because of its location in between two biogeographic regions and the complexity of its topography and the variety of its climates. In the most recent checklist, the number of vascular plant species for Mexico is 23,424, representing the 6 % of the 382,671 vascular species known worldwide. Nevertheless, the available information for bryophytes is very scarce, particularly for liverworts. In one of the first attempts to compile information, Delgadillo-Moya and Juárez-Martínez (2014) estimated Mexican liverwort diversity in 593 species and varieties. Most of the knowledge of Mexican liverworts is dispersed; therefore, the most basic questions about liverwort diversity, such as the number of species and their distribution in the country, remain unclear. The goal of this study was to describe the diversity of Mexican liverworts known from available databases. A database was compiled from electronical resources such as GBIF, CONABIO, and NYBG. The records show 676 terminal taxon names (i.e., species and varieties), of which there are 91 species of leafy liverworts and 47 species of complex thalloids. The most diverse families are Leujenaceae, Plagiochilaceae, Frullaniaceae, Metzgeriaceae, and Lepidoziaceae. The dataset includes 6018 observations among which only 3433 are georeferenced (57.04%). The georeferenced collections are mainly held at the IBUNAM (2101, or 61.2% of the georeferenced collections). Our current understanding of the diversity of Mexican liverworts is poor. The amount and quality of spatial information can be increased by georeferencing data and recording information held in small herbaria. In addition, more attention needs to be paid to the taxonomy and phylogeny of Mexican liverworts. This initial approach is preliminary work needed as part of a long-term plan for increasing our knowledge of the liverwort flora of Mexico.

1 - UC Berkeley, Integrative Biology, Berkeley, CA
2 - University Of California, Berkeley, Department Of Integrative Biology, University And Jepson Herbaria, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Building, # 2465, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States

Keywords:
liverworts
Mexico
biodiversity.

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 5:30 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: PBL007
Abstract ID:646
Candidate for Awards:None