LICHENS GROWING ON GLASS IN ANTARCTICA

Early stages of lichen colonization on glass are reported for the firs t time from Antarctica. In the initial establishment of the lichen tha llus rhizomorphs play an important role for the attachment to the subs tratum and the exploitation of nutrient and photobiont resources. The micrographs presented indicate that in Antarctica colonization of bare substrata by lichens is not necessarily an extremely slow process. Fu rthermore, our findings demonstrate that the use of artificial substra ta such as glass could provide a simple method for studies in lichen c olonization and development in extreme environments. (C) 1996 The Brit ish Lichen Society