Project:

How the Biodiversity of Lichens Differs on Coniferous and Deciduous Trees at Shu Swamp Nature Preserve in Mill Neck, NY and Frie

Students:

Chelsea Gordon, Marley Kraska, Paige Cicciari

School:

Friends Academy, Nassau

Mentors:

Jennifer Newitt

Abstract:

Lichens are highly sensitive to environmental conditions in their ecosystems, according to National Park Service, this is because they receive all of their nutrients from the atmosphere, as they have no roots. While lichen can grow on any undisturbed surface, they often grow on trees; the two primary categories of trees are coniferous, which have needles and cones all year round, and deciduous trees that drop their leaves in the fall in preparation for the winter. To determine if lichens are impacted by the type of tree in which they live on, we will study the biodiversity of lichen on both coniferous and deciduous trees. 20 lichen samples will be collected from the same area at Shu Swamp Nature Preserve. We predict that deciduous trees will have more lichen biodiversity based on information, Theodore Roper from Northern Michigan University, found in a similar study. His data states that deciduous trees on average were covered with 15.94% more lichen than coniferous trees, and a mean o

Poster:

Team samples: