Lichen Functional Trait Variation Along an East-West Climatic Gradient in Oregon and Among Habitats in Katmai National Park, Alaska
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AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Kaleigh Spickerman for the degree of Master of Science in Botany and Plant Pathology presented on June 11, 2015 Title: Lichen Functional Trait Variation Along an East-West Climatic Gradient in Oregon and Among Habitats in Katmai National Park, Alaska Abstract approved: ______________________________________________________ Bruce McCune Functional traits of vascular plants have been an important component of ecological studies for a number of years; however, in more recent times vascular plant ecologists have begun to formalize a set of key traits and universal system of trait measurement. Many recent studies hypothesize global generality of trait patterns, which would allow for comparison among ecosystems and biomes and provide a foundation for general rules and theories, the so-called “Holy Grail” of ecology. However, the majority of these studies focus on functional trait patterns of vascular plants, with a minority examining the patterns of cryptograms such as lichens. Lichens are an important component of many ecosystems due to their contributions to biodiversity and their key ecosystem services, such as contributions to mineral and hydrological cycles and ecosystem food webs. Lichens are also of special interest because of their reliance on atmospheric deposition for nutrients and water, which makes them particularly sensitive to air pollution. Therefore, they are often used as bioindicators of air pollution, climate change, and general ecosystem health. This thesis examines the functional trait patterns of lichens in two contrasting regions with fundamentally different kinds of data. To better understand the patterns of lichen functional traits, we examined reproductive, morphological, and chemical trait variation along precipitation and temperature gradients in Oregon. Specifically, we measured traits of 102 macrolichen species collected from 166 USDA Forest Service program for Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots. These plots were located in a more-or-less continuous swath across Oregon between 43°W and 45°W. Plots were grouped into seven regions (the Oregon Coast, Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Western Cascades, High Cascades, Eastern Cascades, and Eastern Oregon). Using multivariate analysis techniques we found strong linear and nonlinear trait patterns along precipitation and temperature gradients, and were able to characterize the seven main regions of Oregon by the relative abundance of lichen traits. The literature on what lichen traits are most common in which habitats is sparse and anecdotal; understanding trait-habitat patterns could have management implications due to lichen importance as bioindicators and animal forage. Understanding how key traits are distributed among habitats could provide insight into potential air pollution impacts on certain habitats, animal movement among habitats, etc. To examine trait-habitat patterns, we measured the reproductive, morphological, and chemical traits of 429 lichen species collected haphazardly (without a formal sampling framework) from ten distinct habitats within Katmai National Park in southwest Alaska as part of a taxonomic inventory. Using multivariate analysis techniques we grouped habitats based on the expression of lichen traits and described the relative abundance of each trait in different habitats. The second goal of this study was to examine the potential usefulness of herbarium collections in ecological studies of this type. Herbarium specimens are a large potential resource that is generally unused in ecological studies due to concerns over potential bias and noise introduced by variation in collection methods. However, recent work has suggested that herbarium specimens may yield more useful results than previously thought and could be a valid resource for ecological studies. The data for our study were collected in a haphazard manner for a floristic inventory, similar to the collection methods used for many herbarium specimens. The patterns that we observed indicates that herbarium specimens may be a good resource for future research. ©Copyright by Kaleigh Spickerman June 11, 2015 All Rights Reserved Lichen Functional Trait Variation Along an East-West Climatic Gradient in Oregon and Among Habitats in Katmai National Park, Alaska by Kaleigh Spickerman A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Presented June 11, 2015 Commencement June 2016 Master of Science thesis of Kaleigh Spickerman presented on June 11, 2015 APPROVED: Major Professor, representing Botany and Plant Pathology Head of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. Kaleigh Spickerman, Author ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, thanks goes to the National Park Service for funding this project and for giving me the opportunity to conduct research in Katmai National Park, a truly remarkable place. I would like to thank my major professor Bruce McCune for his humor and guidance throughout this journey, as well as his seemingly endless enthusiasm for sharing his wealth of knowledge. I would also like to thank my committee members Andy Jones and Sarah Jovan for comments and guidance along the way. Throughout this project I have been fortunate enough to work with and learn from some truly talented lichenologists, including Lucia Muggia, Peter Nelson, Tor Tønsberg, all of whom helped with the data collection for Chapter 3. The US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (particularly Sarah Jovan), OSU’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, and James Walton of the National Park Service Southwest Alaska Network have also been wonderful resources. I would also like to thank Elisa Alphandary for collecting data on chemical traits and compiling an extensive chemical trait database. Special thanks goes to Pat Muir who immediately made me feel at home here in Oregon. I would also like to thank the entire McCune lab group, especially Nijmah Ali, for their support and for giving me a home away from home in the lab. You have all been a pleasure to work with and I hope we have the opportunity to work together again. Thanks goes to John Mark Maze for all of his support and for keeping me well fed and sane during this journey. Lastly, I would like to thank the friends and family who have been a constant source of support and encouragement over the last two years, I would not be where I am today without each and every one of you. CONTRIBUTION OF AUTHORS Dr. Bruce McCune assisted with the study design, data interpretation, and synthesis for both chapters of this thesis. Portions of the data used in Chapter 2 were originally published in 2007 by Dr. Linda Geiser and Dr. Peter Neitlich, and in 2015 by Dr. Heather Root, Dr. Linda Geiser, Dr. Sarah Jovan, and Dr. Peter Neitlich. Dr. Bruce McCune, Dr. Lucia Muggia, Dr. Peter Nelson, Dr. Tor Tønsberg, and James Walton assisted with data collection for Chapter 3. Elisa Alphandary compiled the chemical traits used in both Chapters 2 and 3. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 References ................................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Lichen functional trait variation along environmental gradients in Oregon ................. 8 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 8 2. Methods................................................................................................................................. 15 2.1. Study Area and Sampling Procedures ............................................................................ 15 2.2. Trait Measurements ....................................................................................................... 19 2.3. Data Preparation and Analysis ....................................................................................... 21 3. Results ................................................................................................................................... 23 3.1. Climatic variation: ......................................................................................................... 25 3.2. Lichen communities: ...................................................................................................... 32 3.3. Lichen traits: .................................................................................................................. 37 4. DISCUSSION: ...................................................................................................................... 43 4.1. Dispersal and establishment ........................................................................................... 43 4.2. Resource acquisition ...................................................................................................... 43 4.3. Competition.................................................................................................................... 44 4.4. Stress (UV light) ............................................................................................................ 46 4.5. Disturbance (herbivory)