Collaborative Research: Joining the Global Bryophyte and Lichen TCN: Filling Gaps from Hawaii, Asia, and Oceania

National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalaheo HI

Investigators

Abstract

This award will establish a Partnership to Existing Network (PEN), which will join the Building a global consortium of Bryophytes and Lichens: keystones of cryptobiotic communities Thematic Collection Network (TCN). Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) and lichens represent a frontier of biodiversity with great opportunities for new species discovery and exploring the role and function of these organisms in ecosystems. Relative to vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens have been significantly understudied. This is particularly true in Hawaiʻi and on the islands of the tropical Pacific. A first step to understanding this biodiversity is cataloging the specimens already collected in museums and herbaria. This award will allow the three largest herbaria in Hawaiʻi, the Bishop Museum, National Tropical Botanical Garden, and the University of Hawaii’’s Joseph Rock herbarium, to collaborate with 25 universities, museums, and gardens across the United States. Known as the GLOBAL Bryophyte & Lichen Thematic Collection Network, these institutions are imaging specimens and digitizing data to enable future research using bryophyte and lichen collections. The project will also provide opportunities for the public to learn about an often-overlooked part of our ecosystem. The study of bryophytes and lichens holds excellent potential for species discovery and for uncovering novel ecosystem processes. In 2020, the NSF funded a Thematic Collection Network (TCN): Building a global consortium of Bryophytes and Lichens: keystones of cryptobiotic communities. The network includes 25 US herbaria and supports collaborative efforts to digitize 1.2 million bryophyte and lichen specimens from US institutions. The TCN focuses on collections from outside North America. The collections from the three largest herbaria in Hawaiʻi (Bishop Museum, National Tropical Botanical Garden, and the University of Hawaiʻi) will significantly augment the digitized collections from Hawaiʻi, the tropical Pacific, and Asia. This project will contribute at least 70,000 imaged, databased, georeferenced, and accessible data records to the global research community, from ca. 58,000 bryophyte and ca. 12,000 lichen specimens, and immediately support research to revise the checklists of Hawaiian bryophytes and lichens. The Hawaii institutions will also conduct bryophyte and lichen identification workshops for natural resource managers, researchers, and University of Hawaii students. The work will also contribute to the development of field guides and conservation assessments for Hawaiian species. Digitized data will be available to the public through iDigBio.org and the Plants of Hawaii website. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.