Berkshire Environmental Action Team

Introduction to the Study of Lichens
2022-04-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-04-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-04-08 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-04-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2022-04-04 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Online/Zoom
April 4, 6, 8, 11, and 13 | 7:00 — 9:00 PM
This seminar will introduce participants to the identification, biology, ecology, and human uses of lichens with a focus on North America. Participants will learn the terminology that describes characters of lichens and their lifestyles and how these characters are used to identify lichens. Participants will learn how to collect and prepare specimens so they can build a starter collection of their own. They have the option to share specimens with other participants so these can be identified and discussed during the seminar.
About the Instructor
Gary Perlmutter (gary.perlmutter@gmail.com) is an Associate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium (NCU). Originally from southern California, he first became interested in lichens and lichenology while studying at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG) as an independent researcher in 1996. Gary took his skills, curiosity, and starter collection of about 25 specimens from a lichen workshop at SBBG to North Carolina, where he has been active in collecting, studying, and teaching lichen classes and workshops since his arrival in 2003. Gary is an Eagle Hill alumnus, having taken the Crustose Lichen workshop taught by Irwin Brodo in 2005. In 2016 Gary earned an M.S. degree from North Carolina State University with the thesis: “Assessing Highway Pollution Effects on Forest Lichen Communities in Western Wake County, North Carolina, USA.” Gary has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals and newsletters from 2005 to the present and manages the lichen collection at NCU.
This seminar cost $175. You must register to join.
Click here to register.

Hornwort Biology and Systematics
2022-03-19 13:00 - 15:00, 2022-03-12 13:00 - 15:00, 2022-03-05 13:00 - 15:00, 2022-02-26 13:00 - 15:00, 2022-02-19 13:00 - 15:00
Saturdays, February 19 & 26, March 5, 12, & 19 @ 1:00 — 3:00 p.m.
Instructor: Juan Carlos Villarreal Aguilar
Tuition Cost: $175
Hornworts represent the smallest phylum among land plants, with only 220 species. Despite the reduced species number, they have a fascinating biology and hold clues on the evolution of symbiotic interactions and chloroplast evolution. Most of the diversity of hornworts is found in tropical and subtemperate areas from the Americas and Asia (especially India and China). Despite the evolutionary and, recently, genomic importance of the group, the taxonomy remains challenging and little known.
This seminar will provide an introduction to the diversity of hornworts, with focus on the American continents (from Canada to Patagonia) and Europe. We will first identify study the morphology and anatomy of hornworts and discuss last decade studies on morphology, phylogenetics, symbiosis, systematics, and genomics. Then, we will focus on the regions of interest, giving special attention to genera and species present. The participant will be guided through the taxonomical literature available for regional taxa, and the morphological particularities when using the few available keys. To dive into the hornworts, we will explore their great variety, exploring their most common species in different substrates and ecosystems, including páramos, montane, premontane rain forest, and lowland tropical rain forest. This seminar will use zoom for interactive lectures by way of power point presentations. The seminar will provide a deep knowledge of this fascinating group of plants and discover why they have become important and popular in the field of evolutionary biology!
• Participants need to have a Zoom account (https://zoom.us ; sign-up is free). They will receive a secure link to join the seminar before it begins.
• Individual classes will be recorded and made available to stream (not download) for the duration of the seminar by its participants, so they are able to review them or make up missed ones.
Register Here.
