Lichen biodiversity in the threatened Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America: Improving classification, conservation, and communication

地衣是一种真菌，具有独特的生活方式，涉及半寄生的关系，与一个真菌和/或蓝藻。虽然地衣对维持陆地生态系统的健康至关重要，但它们仍然长期处于研究不足的状态。该项目的中心地衣多样性的调查，在环境受到威胁的美国大西洋中部沿海平原，并代表了一个有效的，全面的手段，解决一个关键的信息差距，为最不知名的和最环境敏感的有机体群体。调查数据将通过一个整合了新编写的计算机脚本和程序的独特系统，用于解决与保护和生态有关的许多问题。该项目将确定该地区的保护优先事项，并将导致两本书的地衣工作。在准备这些治疗时，作者将通过使用动态在线资源来结合专业人士和业余爱好者的见解，从而脱离传统方法。调查人员将教授一系列课程，指导高中和本科生的多样化群体，并培训博士生。与区域土地管理人员和自然学家的广泛互动和合作，包括由调查人员领导的为期三天的研讨会，将确保该项目对保护工作产生最大影响。

Lichens are fungi with a unique lifestyle involving a semi-parasitic relationship with an alga and/or cyanobacterium. Although lichens are critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems on land, they remain chronically understudied. This project centers on a survey of lichen diversity in the environmentally threatened Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States and represents an efficient, comprehensive means of addressing a critical information gap for one of the least known and most environmentally sensitive organismal groups. The survey data will be used to resolve numerous problems related to conservation and ecology through a unique system that integrates newly written computer scripts and programs. The project will set conservation priorities in the region and will result in two book-length works on lichens. While preparing these treatments, the authors will depart from traditional approaches by using dynamic online resources to incorporate the insights of professionals and amateurs alike. The investigators will teach a series of courses, mentor a diverse cohort of high school and undergraduate students, and train a PhD student. Extensive interactions and collaborations with regional land managers and naturalists, including a three-day workshop led by the investigators, will ensure that this project has the maximum impact on conservation efforts.