British Lichen Society

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British Lichen Society
Formation1958
Legal statusNot-for-profit organisation
PurposeThe promotion of the study, conservation and appreciation of lichens especially in relation to the British Isles
Location
Region served
Worldwide
Website

The British Lichen Society (BLS) was founded in 1958 with the objective of promoting the study and conservation of lichen. [1] Although the society was founded in London, UK, it is also of relevance to lichens worldwide. It has been a registered charity (number 228850) since 1964. [2]

Contents

History

At the instigation of Dougal Swinscow, the first meeting of the society was held at the British Museum on 1 February 1958; there were 24 attendees. Several positions were decided: Arthur Edward Wade was elected as the secretary, Peter Wilfred James as the editor and recorder, Joseph Peterken as the treasurer, David Smith the librarian, and Swinscow as curator and assistant editor. [3] Another founder was Ursula Katherine Duncan. [4]

A tenth-anniversary symposium, held jointly with the British Mycological Society, was held on 27 September 1968. [3] In 1983, the BLS held its silver jubilee celebrations to commemorate 25 years since its founding. A one-day lichenology symposium was held at the Natural History Museum, London, covering the topics ecophysiology, ecology, and lichenology in the Southern Hemisphere. [5]

Lichenologist Oliver Gilbert, former president of the BLS and editor of the organisation’s publications, wrote the book The Lichen Hunters in 2004; according to the blurb on the dust jacket, it is "part travelogue and part social history of the British Lichen Society from ... 1958 to the present". [6]

Activities and publications

A series of events are held each year led by members of the society. These include field and indoor meetings and training events. In conjunction and with support from the BLS, the Field Studies Council started giving field courses on lichens in 1958, initially led by Arthur Wade and held at the Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre. These courses helped increase awareness and interest in field lichenology in the British Isles. In 1964, the BLS undertook the Society Distribution Maps Scheme, a major citizen science project led by Mark Seaward. This effort ultimately resulted in the 1970 publication Introduction to British Lichens, after which it became possible to reliably identify most lichens found in the UK. Distribution maps of species were distributed in the October 1973 issue of The Lichenologist, and this data was incorporated into other biogeographical lichen research, including studies on the effects of pollution on local lichen populations. [3] The society also makes grants to support projects that study lichens. It works with other organisations.

The Society publishes a scientific journal, The Lichenologist , that focusses on the taxonomy of lichens as well as their ecology and physiology. [7] It was founded by Dougal Swinscow [8] and edited by Peter Wilfred James from 1958 until 1977 [9] and by Peter Crittenden from 2000 to 2016. [10] There is also a twice-yearly members' bulletin, BLS Bulletin. This was edited from 1980 until 1989 (except not 1987) by Oliver Gilbert. [11] The society also maintains a database of the lichens in England and Wales, a library based at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, and a herbarium.

Presidents

The BLS elects a new president every two years: [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichenology</span> Branch of mycology that studies lichens

Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga with a filamentous fungus. Lichens are chiefly characterized by this symbiosis.

David Leslie Hawksworth is a British mycologist and lichenologist currently with a professorship in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Madrid, Spain and also a Scientific Associate of The Natural History Museum in London. In 2002, he was honoured with an Acharius Medal by the International Association for Lichenology. He married Patricia Wiltshire, a leading forensic ecologist and palynologist in 2009. As of 2022, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the journals IMA Fungus and Biodiversity and Conservation.

Hildur Krog was a Norwegian botanist.

André Aptroot is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margalith Galun</span> Israeli lichenologist

Margalith Galun was an Israeli lichenologist. She was a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and established the Israeli collection of lichens at Tel Aviv University. Founder of the academic journal Symbiosis, she served as its editor-in-chief between 1985 and 2006. In 1994, she was awarded the Acharius Medal and in 1996 won the Meitner-Humboldt Prize, for her contributions to the field. The International Association for Lichenology grants an award which bears her name to honor scholarship at their quadrennial symposium.

Rolf Santesson (1916–2013) was a Swedish lichenologist and university lecturer. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 1992 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Peter Wilfred James (1930–2014) was an English botanist and lichenologist. He was a pioneer in the study of lichens as environmental indicators, especially of atmospheric pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Galloway (botanist)</span> New Zealand botanist and lichenologist

David John Galloway, FRSNZ was a biochemist, botanist, and lichenologist.

Per Magnus Jørgensen is a Norwegian botanist and lichenologist, and Professor Emeritus of systematic botany at the University of Bergen. He is known for his work on the lichen families Pannariaceae and Collemataceae. Jørgensen was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2021 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Brian John Coppins is a botanist and lichenologist, considered a world authority on crustose lichens and a leading expert on the genus Micarea.

Marie-Agnès Letrouit-Galinou is a French botanist, mycologist, and lichenologist, known for her contribution to revolutionizing the scientific understanding of ascomycete development and classification.

Peter Crittenden is a British lichenologist. His research largely concerns the ecophysiology of lichens. Crittenden is known for using new techniques to study lichens, such as the use of 3D printing and X-ray computed tomography to study lichen structure and development. He served as the senior editor of the scientific journal The Lichenologist from the years 2000–2016; and still serves on the editorial board for the journal Fungal Ecology. Crittenden was the president of the British Lichen Society in 1998–1999, and president of the International Association for Lichenology from 2008 to 2012. He was awarded the Acharius Medal at the 10th International Mycological Congress in Bangkok in 2014, for his lifetime achievements in lichenology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunnar Degelius</span> Swedish lichenologist

Gunnar Bror Fritiof Degelius was a Swedish lichenologist. Between the publications of his first and final scientific papers, Degelius had a 70-year-long research career. While he was best known for his expertise on the lichen genus Collema, he also wrote important papers on lichen biology and ecology, floristic studies of the Nordic countries and various other areas around the world, and lichen succession. Degelius described 124 new taxa, and published about 130 scientific papers. In 1992 he was one of the first to be awarded the Acharius Medal for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Fifteen species and three genera have been named in honour of Degelius.

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The Lichenologist is a peer-reviewed scientific journal specializing in lichenology. It is published bimonthly by the British Lichen Society. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the 2020 impact factor of The Lichenologist is 1.514, ranking it 149 out of 235 in plant sciences and 26 of 29 in mycology.

Mark Richard David Seaward is a British ecologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2006 for lifetime contributions to lichenology.

Alexandra "Sandy" M. Coppins is a Scottish lichenologist. She was president of the British Lichen Society from 2002 to 2004.

Thomas Douglas (Dougal) Victor Swinscow (1917–1992) was the founder of the British Lichen Society and the scientific journal The Lichenologist. He was also a member of the editorial team of the British Medical Journal and deputy editor from 1964 until 1977.

Oliver Gilbert was an urban ecologist and lichenologist. He was a reader in landscape ecology at Sheffield University. He was one of the early users of lichens as indicators of air pollution, and also studied the ecology and diversity of wildlife in urban areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Orange</span> British lichenologist (1955–2023)

Alan Orange was a British lichenologist. His research interests included lichen taxonomy and phylogenetics, aquatic lichens, and the family Verrucariaceae.

References

  1. ↑ "The British Lichen Society" (PDF). Nature. 181 (4609): 602. 1958. doi:10.1038/181602c0 . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "British Lichen Society". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Hawksworth, D.L.; Seaward, M.R.D. (1977). Lichenology in the British Isles, 1568–1975: An Historical and Biographical Survey. Richmond: The Richmond Publishing Company. pp. 35–38.
  4. ↑ James, P.W. (1986). "Ursula Katherine Duncan". The Lichenologist. 18 (4): 383–385. doi: 10.1017/s0024282986000579 . S2CID   85100132.
  5. ↑ Moxham, T.H. (1983). "British Lichen Society Silver Jubilee Celebrations". The Lichenologist. 15 (3): 289–296. doi:10.1017/s0024282983000420. S2CID   84576162.
  6. ↑ Dirig, Robert (2006). "Reviews: Birth of the British Lichen Society". The Bryologist. 109 (2): 296–298. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2006)109[296:rbotbl]2.0.co;2. S2CID   85880250.
  7. ↑ "The Lichenologist". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Smith, Redmond (1992). "Obituary: Dr Douglas Swinscow". The Independent. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Marren, Peter (30 March 2014). "Obituary. Peter James: Lichenologist who was one of the first to establish the study of these primitive plants as a scientific speciality" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Crittenden, Peter (2016). "Change of Managing Editor". The Lichenologist. 48 (1): 1–2. doi: 10.1017/S0024282915000468 .
  11. ↑ Purvis, Ole William (2005). "A tribute to Oliver Lathe Gilbert". The Lichenologist. 37 (6): 467–475. doi: 10.1017/S0024282905900042 . S2CID   85081992.
  12. ↑ "BLS Officers". The British Lichen Society. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
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