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Education

Associate Curator and Chair
Department of Botany Field Museum of Natural History

1989 M.S. (Biology), Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
1993 Ph.D. (Botany), University of Essen, Germany
1997 Habilitation (Botany), University of Essen, Germany

Editorial Board, Anales del Jardin Botanico de Madrid
Editorial Board, Mycology
Editorial Board, Phytotaxa
Editorial Board, Systematic Biology
Editorial Board, Willdenowia
Associate Editor, Australian Systematic Botany
Editor, Mycological Research
Editor, Myconet
Editor, Nova Hedwigia
1998-2003, Privatdozent (Assistant Professor), University of Essen, Germany.
1998 Gerhard Hess Research Award, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
1994-97, Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Essen, Germany.

Phylogeny, taxonomy, and phylogeography of lichen-forming fungi; lichen diversity; lichen chemistry and chemotaxonomy

My research program centers on the systematics, taxonomy and evolution of fungi that form mutualistic symbioses with algae or cyanobacteria. The symbiotic organisms usually look very different from the single bionts and form a special lichen morphology. Four major projects are currently in the focus of my attention: i) Evolution of ascomata in lichen-forming ascomycetes in relation to those fungi that are phytopathogenous, mykorrhizal or saprobial. Molecular and morphological studies are combined to study the different types of fruiting bodies and their development. Molecular studies suggest that a large group of lichenized ascomycetes is closely related and have an evolution of ascomata parallel to other ascomycetes. The results should help us to understand the complex morphologies and their phylogeny found in lichenized ascomycetes. In this connection also the performance of different DNA data sets to infer the higher level phylogeny in these fungi is examined. ii) Phylogeny and systematics of the Thelotremataceae. The Thelotremataceae are a group of tropical crustose lichens. The phylogenetic position of this family is studied using molecular markers. In addition morphological and chemical studies are necessary to clarifiy the taxonomy of this group at the species level, with special emphasis on Australian species, on which I work closely with my Ph. D. student Armin Mangold and species occurring in South America. Maria Ines Messuti (Bariloche) is cooperating on the South American taxa. The whole project is done in close cooperation with Robert Luecking, Collection Manager in the Botany Department. iii). Another current research project concentrates on Antarctic lichens, their diversity and phylogeography. The diversity is assessed using morphological and anatomical characters of species collected in maritime Antarctica. Nora Wirtz, who is working as a Ph. D. student with me, uses DNA sequence data to find out genetic relationships of Antarctic lichens to populations in nearby Tierra del Fuego and in some cases far populations that occur in polar regions of the Northern hemisphere. iv). Monographic studies in the genus Lecanora. This large crustose lichen genus occurs worldwide. I am mainly working with the core group of this genus that is called Lecanora subfusca group. After having studied the Australian species in my dissertation work, I have recently completed a treatment of the taxa occurring in western North America. A revision of all groups of Lecanora in Australia is now in press. Currently I plan to extend my studies towards south east Asian species. These studies aim at decribing the taxa occurring in a region and compiling tools for the identification of these organisms. Mophological, anatomical and chemical characters are used to characterize the species.