On the Hunt for Bibbya Ruginosa

There is one historic record of Bibbya ruginosa (formerly Toninia ruginosa) in Minnesota, collected all the way back in 1902 from Grand Marais, I would assume at Artist's Point. John let me know that it is a species that he is interested in finding on the North Shore, so this past weekend I started my search for it. Based on that I would assume that it is rather rare; however, few observations doesn't always mean rare, and I would also assume that it would be present in other similar habitats. 

It may still be present at Artist's Point, but being how degraded that habitat has become and with it being quite a ways to get there, I started my search at Wolf Ridge's Lake Superior Site. I don't think I found the species I was looking for (although I might have), but I found a lot of cool lichens, some rare and some common. 

Psora globifera is rather common, at least on the shoreline

False Russell's fishscale lichen (Psora pseudorussellii) is quite rare on the North Shore,
I believe this is the only documented population of it here

Blue-edged scale lichen (Psorula rufonigra) growing symbiotically 
with rock hairball lichen (Spilonema revertens)

A drastic color change when wet

Blue blister lichen (Toninia sedifolia) also grows symbiotically with rock hairball lichen

Pisutiella grimmiae growing symbiotically with common goldspeck lichen (Candelariella vitellina)

I also saw some galls on my walk down the path. 

Epiblema desertana on goldtop 

Goldtop leaf gall midge (Asteromyia euthamiae)

Pachypappa sacculi

I also stopped at Sugarloaf Cove to sit and watch the waves and continue the search. 

Likely Arthrorhaphis grisea, a very rare (or underreported lichenicolous fungi in N.A.) growing symbiotically with brown beret lichen (Baeomyces rufus)

A lichen that to me looks somewhat similar to Bibbya ruginosa, 
but will need to be looked at more closely to see















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black Huckleberry and Blueberries

Image
One of my goals is to see all of the species within the heath (Ericaceae) family that are native to MN. This family is pretty diverse, with about 4,000 some odd species, making it the 14th most species-rich plant family. In MN, the numbers are a little bit more manageable with 28 species. This family is often found in nutrient poor habitats: fens, bogs, boreal forests, rock outcroppings, dry forests.... As such many of them have very specialized adaptations that allow them to survive these conditions. Not every member has these but some common adaptations include: leathery leaves, pubescence, and evergreen or semi-evergreen leaves. But the most interesting adaptation is that almost all heath family plants have very strong mycorrhizal associations with fungi in the soil. In fact there is a special group called the ericoid mycorrhiza that form relationships with these plants. This is a key component of these plants' versatility, allowing them to uptake nitrogen in nutrient poor envir...
Read more

Bogwalking

Image
I made my way out to explore some peatlands in the Isabella area with Norma (bogwalker on iNat). This is an ecosystem that I have not explored much yet. Although we were only out for a few hours, I found quite a few new species to me, with many more to come.  Northern yellow eyed grass (Xyris montana) State Special Concern Species Inundated bog clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata) White beaked sedge (Rhynchospora alba) Rosemary tar spot (Rhytisma andromedae We made our way to a second location in search of yellow specklebelly lichen (Pseudocyphellaria holarctica) and were successful. We also spotted a handful of other rare species, all of which I had seen before, but never in this type of habitat.  Yellow specklebelly lichen (Pseudocyphellaria holarctica) State Endangered Species Spiny gray horsehair lichen (Bryoria nadvornikiana) State Watchlist Species Mealy-rimmed shingle lichen (Pannaria conoplea) State Watchlist Species Pale-footed horsehair lichen (Bryoria fuscescens) State ...
Read more

Rare and not so Rare Species in Ontario

Image
I made my way up to the Thunder Bay area with my mom this weekend while she was up on vacation. We stopped at quite a few ecologically interesting spots: Mt. McKay; quite a few sections of Superior's shoreline, mostly bays protected by islands; and some cool, moist rivers that run into the big lake. I was mostly just enjoying the landscape and the break from work, but of course my eyes were also on the lichens, plants, and insects.  With very little effort, I surprisingly found quite a few rare species. I have a few ideas as to why it was so easy. Many of the spots we stopped at were quite scenic, long expanses of shoreline, mountains, cliffs... these features are unique, hence they have unique species that are specialized to growing in those conditions. Going up north it was far more mountainous, being deeper into the Canadian Shield. While we definitely have similar habitats in MN, they are often more remote and inaccessible. There were also some unique rock types that I haven...
Read more