Title

UV-blocking chemicals in forest canopy and understory lichens

Alternative Title

Productos químicos para bloquear los rayos ultravioleta en el dosel del bosque y en los líquenes del sotobosque

Creator

Katherine Rose Heal

Files

Publication Date

May 2008

Abstract

Lichens produce over eight hundred secondary metabolites, many of which are found nowhere else in nature. Many of these chemicals have UV-blocking properties, including usnic acid and many depsides. These chemicals could affect colonization success between understory and canopy lichens. In Monteverde, Costa Rica, a total of 244 lichens were extracted from six trees, half from canopy branch tips and half from the trunk in the understory. Canopy coverage was significantly higher in the understory (t-test, F = 88.78, p < 0.05). In the pooled population, usnic acid was present in the branch tips more often than on the trunks (after Yates correction factor X2 c = 26.23, df = 1, p = 3.03E-07). Conversely, depsides were present more often on the trunks (after Yates correction factor X2 c = 26.23, df = 1, p = 3.02E-07). The differences in the chemical constituents, which are associated with differences in lichen community composition, may reflect adaptations that allow niche partitioning along light gradients.

Resumen

Los líquenes producen más de ochocientas metabolitos secundarios, muchos de los cuales se encuentran en ningún otro lugar en la naturaleza. Muchas de estas sustancias tienen propiedades bloqueadoras de los rayos UV, incluyendo el ácido úsnico y depsides muchos. Estos productos químicos pueden afectar la colonización de éxito entre los líquenes sotobosque y dosel. En Monteverde, Costa Rica, un total de 244 líquenes se extrajeron de seis árboles, la mitad de puntas de las ramas del dosel y la mitad del tronco en el sotobosque.

Keywords

Lichens--Ecology, Lichen communities, Cloud forest ecology, CIEE Spring 2008

Palabras claves

Líquenes--Ecología, Comunidades de líquenes, Ecología del bosque nuboso, CIEE Primavera 2008

Extent

10 pages

Geographic Location

Monteverde (Puntarenas, Costa Rica)

Holding Location

Monteverde Institute

Language

English; Spanish

Media Type

Articles

Format

Digital Only

Identifier

M39-00462

Type

Book

Recommended Citation

Heal, Katherine Rose, "UV-blocking chemicals in forest canopy and understory lichens" (2008). Tropical Ecology and Conservation [Monteverde Institute]. 506.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tropical_ecology/506