Identification Information: This crustose lichen can be recognized by its occurrence on bark, blue-gray color, large pustulose soraliaand the production of 2-O-methylperlatolic acid.
Loxospora assateaguensis is a crustose lichen known from a single location on the Virginian Barrier Islands of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain of southeastern North America. Suitable habitat for this speciesis significantly fragmented and has been degraded by anthropogenic forces. The threats to L. assateaguensis stem from continued degradation of suitable habitat and projected impacts from sea-level rise.
This species is assessed here as Critically Endangered (CR) based on the single known location, small area of occupancy, and extent of occurrence, and the documented declines in habitat quality historically, at present, and projected into the future. It also ranks as CR based on the inferred future decline which estimates that even under the most conservative estimates, that 100% of the population, which lies at~0.3 meters above sea level (well below the 1.5 meter conservative estimate for sea-level rise by 2100; see Lendemer & Allen 2014, Sallenger et al. 2012, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2015) will be flooded within the next three generations as a result of sea-level rise and/or intense storm damage. It would also meet Endangered D based on the small number of mature individuals (ca.<100).
Assessor/s: Lendemer, J., Allen, J. & McMullin, T.; Reviewer/s: Scheidegger, C.
Bibliography:
Bellis, V.J. (1995) Ecology of Maritime Forests of the Southern Atlantic Coast: A Community Profile. Biological Report30: 1-90.
Berman, M. & H. Berquist (2007) Coastal Maritime Forests in Virginia – Delineation and Distribution.William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V5Q71P
IUCN (2018) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2018-2. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 15 November 2018).
Lendemer, J.C. (2013) Two New Sterile Species of Loxospora (Sarrameanaceae: Lichenized Ascomycetes) from the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science129(3): 71-81.
Lendemer, J.C. & J. Allen (2014) Lichen Biodiversity under threat from Sea-Level Rise in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. BioScience64: 923-931.
Sallenger A.H. Jr., K.S. Doran & P.A. Howd (2012) Hotspot of accelerated sea-level rise on the Atlantic Coast of North America. Nature Climate Change2: 884–888.
United States Army Corps of Engineers (2015) North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study. ResilientAdaptation to Increasing Risk. United States Army Corps of Engineers.
Villarini, G. & G.A. Vecchi (2012) Projected Increases in North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Intensity from CMIP5 Models. Journal of Climate26(10): 3231–3240
Find out more about the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteriahere.