Nathan Chrismas
@thevagrantlichenologist.com
Lichenologist - FRGS - Mountain Leader - Outdoor Activities Engagement for the British Lichen Society
Blog: www.thevagrantlichenologist.com
Insta: www.instagram.com/cragology/
Web: www.cragology.rocks
Blog: www.thevagrantlichenologist.com
Insta: www.instagram.com/cragology/
Web: www.cragology.rocks
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The rise of lichens during the colonization of terrestrial environments
Evidence reveals Spongiophyton as one of the earliest and most widespread lichens in Earth’s history.
www.science.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:22 PM
This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Great article about fieldwork in Iceland this summer (in Icelandic but Google Translate does a decent job). I was invited to join by lichenologist Starri Heiðmarsson who I met thanks to the @ukarcticoffice.bsky.social UK-Iceland Arctic Science Partnership Scheme heimildin.is/grein/25295/...
Hver vill búa á hrikalegu jökulskeri?
Í sumar gekk fjölþjóðlegur hópur náttúrufræðinga yfir Breiðamerkurjökul og upp í afskekktu jökulskerin Esjufjöll. Þau voru þangað komin til að skoða hvernig líf þróast og tekur land undan hopandi jökl...
heimildin.is
November 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Great article about fieldwork in Iceland this summer (in Icelandic but Google Translate does a decent job). I was invited to join by lichenologist Starri Heiðmarsson who I met thanks to the @ukarcticoffice.bsky.social UK-Iceland Arctic Science Partnership Scheme heimildin.is/grein/25295/...
Nitrates can really mess up lichens, but Xanthoria seems to deal with it pretty well. This article suggests that hydration plays a role, with Xanthoria better able to cope with stress when moist and metabollically active. #lichenresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Hydration-driven metabolic activity enhances the resilience of Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. to nitrate stress
Lichens can utilise nitrogen in molecular, reduced, and oxidized forms, but they preferentially use ammonium due to low energetic cost of its assimila…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Nitrates can really mess up lichens, but Xanthoria seems to deal with it pretty well. This article suggests that hydration plays a role, with Xanthoria better able to cope with stress when moist and metabollically active. #lichenresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A while ago I did a little experiment in getting a LLM to write some code to draw pictures of lichens. It was very apparent that it had no idea what it was doing. Looks like the situation hasn't gotten any better.
Companies building frontier LLMs, please let me help you teach your models how to interpret evolution
These are *so* wrong, but I know we can get it right.
prompt: "create an image of a phylogenetic tree with the following topology (((A,B),(C,D)),E);"
These are *so* wrong, but I know we can get it right.
prompt: "create an image of a phylogenetic tree with the following topology (((A,B),(C,D)),E);"
November 20, 2025 at 8:25 AM
A while ago I did a little experiment in getting a LLM to write some code to draw pictures of lichens. It was very apparent that it had no idea what it was doing. Looks like the situation hasn't gotten any better.
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Remote sensing of lichens with drones for detecting dinosaur bones: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Remote sensing of lichens with drones for detecting dinosaur bones
Brian Pickles and colleagues show that exposed dinosaur bones can be remote sensed
with drones by virtue of colored lichens growing on them.
www.cell.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Remote sensing of lichens with drones for detecting dinosaur bones: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this lumpy lecidioid thing (mica schist at ~800m VC96). I was half expecting a mutant Rhizo, but microscopy said otherwise....
#lichenGBI
#lichenGBI
November 4, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this lumpy lecidioid thing (mica schist at ~800m VC96). I was half expecting a mutant Rhizo, but microscopy said otherwise....
#lichenGBI
#lichenGBI
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Based on morphology and molecular data, sixteen new species are described as part of a study on the taxonomy of Protoblastenia in Finland.
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/myco...
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/myco...
October 30, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Based on morphology and molecular data, sixteen new species are described as part of a study on the taxonomy of Protoblastenia in Finland.
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/myco...
🔗 doi.org/10.3897/myco...
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
#Fire avoidance & long-term population decline in the endangered Florida ground #lichen #Cladonia perforata within a pyrogenic habitat
New #AJB research by @sterlingherron.bsky.social, Katherine Charton, Sarah Haller Crate, Stacy Smith, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #plantscience
New #AJB research by @sterlingherron.bsky.social, Katherine Charton, Sarah Haller Crate, Stacy Smith, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #plantscience
October 29, 2025 at 3:09 PM
#Fire avoidance & long-term population decline in the endangered Florida ground #lichen #Cladonia perforata within a pyrogenic habitat
New #AJB research by @sterlingherron.bsky.social, Katherine Charton, Sarah Haller Crate, Stacy Smith, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #plantscience
New #AJB research by @sterlingherron.bsky.social, Katherine Charton, Sarah Haller Crate, Stacy Smith, et al.
doi.org/10.1002/ajb2... #botany #plantscience
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
UTTERLY SURREAL LOW ANGLE GLACIER SLIDE!! 😮😱
On Saturday at 11:00 am, a 2 km-long, 25 m-high, and 150-200 m in width section detached off the Ismoil Somoni Glacier (Tajikistan) and slid down the gorge! 🧊🌊
asiaplustj.info/en/node/354309
📽️ via @volcaholic1
On Saturday at 11:00 am, a 2 km-long, 25 m-high, and 150-200 m in width section detached off the Ismoil Somoni Glacier (Tajikistan) and slid down the gorge! 🧊🌊
asiaplustj.info/en/node/354309
📽️ via @volcaholic1
October 28, 2025 at 4:10 PM
UTTERLY SURREAL LOW ANGLE GLACIER SLIDE!! 😮😱
On Saturday at 11:00 am, a 2 km-long, 25 m-high, and 150-200 m in width section detached off the Ismoil Somoni Glacier (Tajikistan) and slid down the gorge! 🧊🌊
asiaplustj.info/en/node/354309
📽️ via @volcaholic1
On Saturday at 11:00 am, a 2 km-long, 25 m-high, and 150-200 m in width section detached off the Ismoil Somoni Glacier (Tajikistan) and slid down the gorge! 🧊🌊
asiaplustj.info/en/node/354309
📽️ via @volcaholic1
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
There are 110 other posts in the vicinity and I took a closer look at about 40 of them. The original one I noticed still happened to be the best in my opinion, in terms of "terrain" and diversity.
October 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
There are 110 other posts in the vicinity and I took a closer look at about 40 of them. The original one I noticed still happened to be the best in my opinion, in terms of "terrain" and diversity.
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
In this paper, we show that photobiont diversity increases as lichens age. Interestingly, as the thallus grows, autosporine algae become more prevalent at the expense of zoosporine algae, likely because the latter play a key role in lichen establishment. 1url.cz/@Proto
October 21, 2025 at 8:04 AM
In this paper, we show that photobiont diversity increases as lichens age. Interestingly, as the thallus grows, autosporine algae become more prevalent at the expense of zoosporine algae, likely because the latter play a key role in lichen establishment. 1url.cz/@Proto
Stereocaulon condensatum. This is a thing frequently associated with mine spoil so really nice to see it in a more natural setting - exposed soil flushed by mineral rich rock at ~800m VC96 #lichenGBI
October 21, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Stereocaulon condensatum. This is a thing frequently associated with mine spoil so really nice to see it in a more natural setting - exposed soil flushed by mineral rich rock at ~800m VC96 #lichenGBI
Some very fine looking Trapeliopsis pseudogranulosa VC106 #LichenGBI
October 18, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Some very fine looking Trapeliopsis pseudogranulosa VC106 #LichenGBI
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
PhD opportunity with me at University of Edinburgh linked with Forest Research, funded by E5 DTP.
On the microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling in tree-planted upland soils. Apply before 14th Dec. Please share with your network.
Pic: one of our Scottish sites.
e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
On the microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling in tree-planted upland soils. Apply before 14th Dec. Please share with your network.
Pic: one of our Scottish sites.
e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
October 17, 2025 at 3:25 PM
PhD opportunity with me at University of Edinburgh linked with Forest Research, funded by E5 DTP.
On the microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling in tree-planted upland soils. Apply before 14th Dec. Please share with your network.
Pic: one of our Scottish sites.
e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
On the microbial mechanisms of soil carbon cycling in tree-planted upland soils. Apply before 14th Dec. Please share with your network.
Pic: one of our Scottish sites.
e5-dtp.ed.ac.uk/project?item...
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Part of: Exploring the Hidden Fungal Diversity: Biodiversity, Taxonomy, and Phylogeny of Saprobic Fungi
doi.org/10.3897/myco...
doi.org/10.3897/myco...
Exploring the Hidden Fungal Diversity: Biodiversity, Taxonomy, and Phylogeny of Saprobic Fungi
Saprobic fungi, also known as saprophytic fungi, are considered the “key players” in decomposition and essential ecosystem components. They have a cosmopolitan distribution and can oc...
doi.org
October 17, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Part of: Exploring the Hidden Fungal Diversity: Biodiversity, Taxonomy, and Phylogeny of Saprobic Fungi
doi.org/10.3897/myco...
doi.org/10.3897/myco...
Nice new study from Veronika Kantnerova and @skaloud.bsky.social - lichen photobionts are not fixed from the 'birth' of a thallus and increase in diversity as a lichen ages academic.oup.com/femsec/artic...
Validate User
academic.oup.com
October 17, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Nice new study from Veronika Kantnerova and @skaloud.bsky.social - lichen photobionts are not fixed from the 'birth' of a thallus and increase in diversity as a lichen ages academic.oup.com/femsec/artic...
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
BLS will welcome applications from members for travel grants to attend IAL10 next summer. The full details of the application process and closing date for applications are on the website.
britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/....
britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/....
September 4, 2025 at 3:16 PM
BLS will welcome applications from members for travel grants to attend IAL10 next summer. The full details of the application process and closing date for applications are on the website.
britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/....
britishlichensociety.org.uk/the-society/....
Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Come to Copenhagen to work on #moss #cyanobacteria interactions! Still time to apply for this postdoc position!! 👇
Interested in deciphering how #moss and #cyanobacteria interact with each other? Want to come to #Copenhagen? Join us for a postdoc! candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationI... @voltcenter.bsky.social
1.5-Year postdoctoral position on Molecular Biology of Moss-Cyanobacteria Associations
A 1.5-year postdoc position in Biochemistry and Molecular Plant Biology with a focus on moss-cyanobacteria associations is available at the Department of Biolog
candidate.hr-manager.net
September 24, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Come to Copenhagen to work on #moss #cyanobacteria interactions! Still time to apply for this postdoc position!! 👇
Orphniospora moriopsis on gneissose granite, Strath Vaich. I think this thing is pretty underrecorded on account of it being a fairly mysterious black crust, but when it's mature it develops a distinct orange pruina which can help to tell it apart from other things
October 14, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Orphniospora moriopsis on gneissose granite, Strath Vaich. I think this thing is pretty underrecorded on account of it being a fairly mysterious black crust, but when it's mature it develops a distinct orange pruina which can help to tell it apart from other things
Instagram is driving me insane and I'm missing the old days of Twitter so I'm going to try and start being a bit more active on here.
October 14, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Instagram is driving me insane and I'm missing the old days of Twitter so I'm going to try and start being a bit more active on here.
Some super lichens here in the Dolomites. A favourite of the trip so far is Bellemerea alpina, a species that's incredibly scarce in the Cairngorms but in the heart of its range here.
July 3, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Some super lichens here in the Dolomites. A favourite of the trip so far is Bellemerea alpina, a species that's incredibly scarce in the Cairngorms but in the heart of its range here.
En route to the First Symposium of Alpine Lichenology. Very excited for this! I'll be discussing work from our Scottish hills and looking forward to putting it in the context of mountain environments on a wider scale.
June 29, 2025 at 6:53 AM
En route to the First Symposium of Alpine Lichenology. Very excited for this! I'll be discussing work from our Scottish hills and looking forward to putting it in the context of mountain environments on a wider scale.
Interesting looking study on the effects of seabird droppings on plant communities. Not read properly yet, but a quick skim and lichens are only mentioned once, despite being the only 'plant' visible in the lead photo (yes I know they're not plants, but)
May 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Interesting looking study on the effects of seabird droppings on plant communities. Not read properly yet, but a quick skim and lichens are only mentioned once, despite being the only 'plant' visible in the lead photo (yes I know they're not plants, but)
Female Belted Beauty moth. This is the Scottish subspecies, Lycia zonaria atlantica, found on machair grassland in the Hebrides (here on Mingulay)
May 7, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Female Belted Beauty moth. This is the Scottish subspecies, Lycia zonaria atlantica, found on machair grassland in the Hebrides (here on Mingulay)
In Birmingham for our workshop on lichen microbiomes thanks to the NERC Arctic Office. Here's @ingeborgklarenberg.bsky.social talking about her work on lichen associated communities in Antarctica
March 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
In Birmingham for our workshop on lichen microbiomes thanks to the NERC Arctic Office. Here's @ingeborgklarenberg.bsky.social talking about her work on lichen associated communities in Antarctica