Four to six, adult, healthy, donor thalli of Erioderma pedicellatum (E.p) from the Lockyer’s Waters area will be removed from dead standing trees, or trees that have fallen due to exposure to wind. Only thalli that are in jeopardy of not surviving due to the conditions mentioned above will be removed. Removal of the species (E.p) from the substrate will be performed in a careful manner to insure minimal damage to the thalli. Specimens will be removed during a dry day or dry period as this is the time when the species is less sensitive to 
mechanical damage. Following removal of the thalli from the substrate the specimen will be placed in a glass petri dish for storage and cooled until transportation to Salmonier Nature Park (Scheidegger, 1998). This procedure will be repeated for each of the four to six thalli collected.

Four transplantation methods will be conducted in both Salmonier Nature Park and are described below. Site locations for transplantation of the species in the park was selected in consultation with Animal Curator (Salmonier Nature Park) during field visits and using existing knowledge of potentially suitable habitats.

1). Healthy, actively growing lobes of the E.p thalli (1 cm) will be surgically removed using sterilized knives, from the donor thalli and placed on several mounted surgical gauze pieces, on the chosen phorophyte. The surgical gauze discs will measure 8 mm in diameter and have two layers. Surgical gauze will be mounted using 1/4" aluminum staples on the bark of the phorophyte or on the upper limits of thin mats of epiphytic bryophytes.

2, 3.) Healthy actively growing lobes of the E.p. donor thalli will be directly stapled to the bark of the substrate (2) and over thin mats of growing epiphytic liverworts, mainly Frullania asagrayana (3). Since the geotropic nature of the species is unknown, the lobes will be stapled, pointing in the direction of the base of the trunk (southerly orientation). If time permits all four compass orientations will be experimented to determine which orientation is most successful.

4.) Similar to the methodology in (2, 3.) above a 1 cm portion of the donor Erioderma thallus will be placed underneath actively growing Frullania, which in turn will be stapled at both ends to secure the covered lichen in place.

Monitoring and data logging from time of transplantation

From the initial point of transplant to each of the substrates in Salmonier Nature Park, observation of the transplanted thalli will occur several times a week in order to discover the time when anchoring of E.p to the substrate occurs. Following that point a photo series will be developed using a digital camera and consisting of one photo per month of each of the successfully transplanted thalli. Basic size measurements (length, width, distance from trunk, etc.) of the thalli will also be taken monthly to determine the rate of growth of the newly transplanted species.

Terms of Reference

Title

Experimental Transplantation of adult thalli of Erioderma pedicellatum ((Hue) P.M. Jorg.) into suitable Abies balsamea forest habitats of Salmonier Nature Park.

Objective

To experimentally transplant live specimens of Erioderma pedicellatum from selected areas in Lockyer’s Waters (near Avondale) into known habitats of Abies balsamea forests in Salmonier Nature Park. The results from the several procedural transplantation techniques used will be re-interpreted into a transplantation protocol, and recommendations will be made for further transplantation experiments for Erioderma pedicellatum and possibly other endangered lichens in Newfoundland.

Proposed Period (Tentative)

The transplants were accomplished on June 14, 2000 and monitoring of the transplanted thalli will be continuous from that date, for an unknown duration. If the transplant is successful, the hope is to develop long term monitoring of the species (10-15 years) using in part a photographic series over time.

Brief purpose/methodology

Two conservation approaches are currently known for endangered or critically endangered populations of epiphytic lichen species. One of these methods, in situ conservation, implies the successful establishment of additional populations of threatened species such as Lobaria pulmonaria in Europe (Scheidegger, 1995). It should be noted that even though the current status (COSEWIC) of Erioderma pedicellatum is not known in Newfoundland (Maass, 1999), it will be treated as a potentially threatened lichen population for the purposes of this study. Anthropogenic disturbance is considered to be the leading cause of habitat loss in European forests, which in turn affects lichen populations dramatically, driving certain populations to extinction (Scheidegger, 1995). Newfoundland is not void of the problem of habitat loss, especially in old growth Abies balsamea forests. In the broader landscape scale the anthropogenic pressures of increased logging and air pollution are changing the forest dynamics. It is particularly important for rare lichen species in these forest types, to increase the metapopulation via in situ methods. As even the natural regenerative process of forests void of anthropogenic disturbance may not be sufficient enough to maintain certain lichen populations. This is particularly important for Erioderma pedicellatum since its current relationship with the dynamics of Abies balsamea stands is not known, and the number of phorophyte species is low. Several transplantation techniques will be implemented in this study in Salmonier Nature Park in consultation with Dr. Christoph Scheidegger of the Swiss Federal Institute in Switzerland, and Dr. Wolfgang Maass of Dalhousie University. Several techniques have already been reviewed for the transplantation of certain red listed lichens such as Lobaria pulmonaria in Europe (Hallingback, 1990). New transplantation techniques have been devised for Erioderma pedicellatum since the thallus structure is far more fragile than Lobaria pulmonaria and different symbiotic relationships exist, such as the relationship with the liverwort Frullania asagrayana (Scheidegger, 1999; Maass, 1999). The in situ methodology proposed here, as well as utilizing the protected area of Salmonier Nature Park, is suspected to be vital components in maintaining populations of Erioderma pedicellatum in Newfoundland in the future.

Contact persons

Any inquiries concerning this project can be directed to Salmonier Nature Park.