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Phorophyte specificity and environmental parameters versus stochasticity as determinants for species composition of corticolous crustose lichen communities in the Atlantic rain forest of northeastern Brazil

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Abstract

A transect of 47 mature trees was studied within an Atlantic rain-forest plot in northeastern Brazil to determinate effects of phorophyte specificity and environmental parameters vs. stochasticity on the structure of corticolous, crustose microlichen communities. A total of 150 lichen species was found, most being rare to extremely rare. Multivariate analysis of sample plots indicated subtle phorophyte preferences among certain lichen species, corresponding to differences in bark pH, degree of bark shedding, density and size of bark lenticels, and presence of milk sap. Individual and multiple regressions revealed correlations between lichen species richness; respectively, area cover and bark pH (negative); density and size of bark lenticels (negative); degree of bark shedding (negative); presence of milk sap (positive); and diffuse site factor (positive). No strongly delimited lichen communities were detected, but cluster analysis revealed three main groups and six subgroups with slightly different lichen species composition, each one with characteristic indicator species but with highly variable overall species composition. Beta diversity was high among samples and lacked spatial structure. However, beta diversity was significantly lower among samples belonging to the same tree species, independent of their spatial arrangement. It was concluded that community formation in tropical rain-forest understory lichens subtly correlates with two main environmental factor complexes—phorophyte bark characteristics and microclimate—but is to a large extent determined by the stochastic effects of species dispersal, especially of rare species.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by a Ph.D. grant to the first author from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD). The first author thanks Dr. Leonor Costa Maia and her staff at the Departamento de Micologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, for logistic and organizatorial support to access the sampled localities. Franciso Quintella and wife, owners of the RPPN Fazenda São Pedro, are warmly acknowledged for their help during the repeated visits to the site. Tatiana Gibertoni provided welcome company and transportation during visits to several localities. Dr. André Aptroot, Dr. Klaus Kalb, and Dr. Harrie Sipman assisted in the identification or confirmation of several lichen species. Dr. Luciana Zedda is thanked for revising the manuscript and giving some useful suggestions concerning the statistical analyses.

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Pflanzensystematik, NWI, Abt. Mykologie und Lichenologie, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

    Marcela E. S. Cáceres & Gerhard Rambold

  2. Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Micologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50670–420, Recife-PE, Brazil

    Marcela E. S. Cáceres

  3. Department of Botany, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL, 60605–2496, USA

    Marcela E. S. Cáceres & Robert Lücking

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  1. Marcela E. S. Cáceres
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Correspondence to Gerhard Rambold.

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Cáceres, M.E.S., Lücking, R. & Rambold, G. Phorophyte specificity and environmental parameters versus stochasticity as determinants for species composition of corticolous crustose lichen communities in the Atlantic rain forest of northeastern Brazil. Mycol Progress 6, 117–136 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-007-0532-2

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