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Researchers with the Nature Trust of New Brunswick are on the hunt for four different types of lichens and they’ve found one – in an unusual spot.
The scaly fringe lichen, known scientifically as heterodermia squamulosa, was found between Alma and Riverside-Albert, east of Fundy National Park.
“As far as I know, it’s the most eastern recorded occurrence of the species to date,” said Ilana Urquhart, a conservation coordinator with the Nature Trust.
A lichen is a symbiotic partnership between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, such as algae. Lichens often appear as grey, yellow, or green crusty patches growing on trees, looking almost like a type of moss.
Urquhart said lichens can take some work to find but are usually found on rocks and trees.
In the past, she said they have been found west of Fundy along the coast and a few times on Grand Manan.
“They live on almost every surface that they can find,” said Urquhart. “The ones growing on trees are actually just growing there. They have nothing to do with the tree itself. They’re just using it as a surface to live on.”
Urquhart said the scaly fringe lichen along with the others they’re searching for — the wrinkled shingle lichen, the blue felt lichen and the white-rimmed shingle lichen — are especially tough to find.
All of the species have been evaluated for their scarcity in the province. The wrinkled shingle lichen is endangered, the white-rimmed and scaly fringe are threatened and the blue felt is of special concern.
Urquhart said lichens can be a good indicator of a healthy environment that can support a variety of species.
“We might not directly see what the importance of them is, but they’re often found in areas that are really rich, that are biodiverse.”
The biggest threat to lichens is habitat loss, according to Urquhart, which can be caused by logging and harvesting.
She said there isn’t a lot of observational data available about these lichens, so the Nature Trust’s findings will be shared with other researchers and be a part of the province’s data set.
The Nature Trust got funding from Environment Climate Change Canada through the Habitat Stewardship Program — which supports projects focused on working with at-risk species.
The researchers with Nature Trust have been looking for lichens since 2022, which has involved finding land owners who have suitable environments for these lichens.
Urquhart said they can be found in cedar swamp habitats, maple swamp habitats and hardwood areas.
She said they’ve been targeting the Charlotte County region, the Wolastoq — also known as the St. John River — and the coastal islands of the Bay of Fundy.
The Nature Trust is still looking for blue felt lichen and is aware that it is present in Charlotte County and on Grand Manan.
