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Nathan Chrismas

@thevagrantlichenologist.com
751 followers 559 following 134 posts

Lichenologist - FRGS - Mountain Leader Working with NTS and RBGE Blog: www.thevagrantlichenologist.com Insta: www.instagram.com/cragology/ Web: www.cragology.rocks

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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 28/09/2026
Our new short comm introducing Ochrolechia frigida as a system for studying lichen symbiont dynamics is online now in The Lichenologist @lichenologist.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Thallus growth stage affects community-wide capacity for carbon metabolism in the alpine heath lichen Ochrolechia frigida | The Lichenologist | Cambridge Core
Thallus growth stage affects community-wide capacity for carbon metabolism in the alpine heath lichen Ochrolechia frigida
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
The Lichenologist @lichenologist.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The latest issue of the #Lichenologist has been published today! Enjoy the latest lichen research, including #OpenAccess articles, online here: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
The Lichenologist: Volume 58 - Issue 3-4 | Cambridge Core
Cambridge Core - The Lichenologist - Volume 58 - Issue 3-4
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 13/08/2026
Will get stuff to Brian next week - will include records from Glen Coe this week, some tasty stuff!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 12/08/2026
When's Chris doing the next update? Could use some sort of deadline to kick me up the bottom to get records in to Brian!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 07/08/2026
Have been a bit quiet on here recently (social media/life overload perhaps?), but licheneering continues. Here's another example of the mega-rare-in-Scotland Catolechia wahlenbergii spotted on a glorious day scrambling Castle Ridge on Ben Nevis a cpuple of weeks back.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 07/08/2026
Very proud to have these hills as part of my extended office. One of the very best places in the country. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Torridon declared Scotland's newest national nature reserve
It is the first since Glen Coe and Mar Lodge Estate were granted the status in 2017.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 02/06/2026
What a great list - some of my faves in there (Reconstruction Site, The Argument, good to be reminded of DMST as well!) Some stuff I've not heard too, will be digging into this. Thanks!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 13/05/2026
On a climbing trip in Sweden and pretty psyched to see this abundant Umbilicaria crustulosa, a lichen with a super limited distribution in the UK but all over the granite cliffs here where there's a bit of drainage
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 31/03/2026
I'm out west this week surveying some patches of woodland on the Balmacara estate outwith the well known Coille Mhor SSSI. There's some amazing lichens about, like these lovely Pseudocyphellaria citrina and P. norvegica. #lichenGBI
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 18/03/2026
Had a good day at Glasdrum NNR filling a few gaps in my knowledge of Scottish rainforest lichens with the help of Oliver Moore. This was the find of the day, the nationally rare jelly Leptogium hibernicum. #lichenGBI @plantlifeuk.bsky.social
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 14/03/2026
"Leading on matters relating to non-vascular plants and lichens and associated habitat protection and enhancement where possible."
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 14/03/2026
Nice looking gig in Wales for any lichen ecologists interested in old mine sites jobs.miningremediation.co.uk/vacancies/60...
jobs.miningremediation.co.uk
Project Ecologist (Wales) in Homeworker | Mining Remediation
View details and apply for this Project Ecologist (Wales) vacancy in Homeworker. Join Us and Make a Real Impact in Ecological Protection and Enhancement! Do you dream of working day to day as ...
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 06/03/2026
A classic in the making!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 06/03/2026
Yep bang on
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 21/02/2026
Lots of BJC specimens in matchboxes!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 21/02/2026
Found a lichen lifer today, Catolechia wahlenbergii, one of our rarest arctic-alpines. In Glen Nevis, VC97. Last official record from the area in an adjacent monad was 2003. What a beauty! #lichenGBI
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 19/02/2026
I've been out on my first fieldwork with NTS this week looking at some of their woodland sites in Perthshire. Some nice old growth indicators tucked in there, including Lopadium disciforme (black fruits) and Mycobilimbia sphaeroides (brown fruits). Also Oliver Moore.
Oliver looking at a treeA lichen black fruits on a green squamulose thallusA lichen, brown fruits on a green granular thallus
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) @ukceh.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
😍 Great to see some lichen love from April Windle of the @britishlichensociety.org.uk, plus our own Bill Bealey explaining how our LicheN app is used for measuring sensitivity to nitrogen pollution Featured on BBC News ⤵️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... 🧪
bbc.co.uk
How lichen hold the secret to a breath of fresh air
An app uses lichen to help monitor air quality in places like the New Forest.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 23/01/2026
There's so much interesting stuff in Morocco, would love to make some collections there one day!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 19/01/2026
Here's Catillaria gilbertii mounted on... a wine cork for some reason
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 19/01/2026
Here's Catillaria gilbertii mounted on... a wine cork for some reason
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 19/01/2026
I'll be spending a bit more time here from now on, pretty neat to have access to all the specimens in the RBGE herbarium
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 18/01/2026
"Apothecia are very rare, except in N.E. Scotland (Cairngorm region)." So that tracks.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 18/01/2026
Ever seen Pseudevernia furfuracea fruiting before? I'm not sure I have, but here it is on Pinus sylvestris on the shore of Loch Gamhna, Rothiemurchus VC96
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
Cheers Philip - I couldn't have asked for a better role!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
Thanks Petra!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
Photo is from my first taste of the lichens of botanical hotspot Ben Lawers last summer - a place that I'll be getting to know intimately over the next two years.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
To top it off, I'll be continuing my research on lichen functional ecology at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh part time. Can't wait to get started!
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
Those who know me will know how big a deal this is, and an opportunity to bring together my love for the outdoors and lichenology like never before.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
I'll also get to put my climbing and hill skills into action exploring lichen diversity in places like Glen Coe, the Northwest Highlands, and on the islands of Arran, Pabbay, and Mingulay.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
I'll be out from behind the computer sharpening my field identification skills, as well as learning the subtleties of microscopy back in the lab as I work on some of the UK's rarest arctic-alpine species.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
Big new start for me tomorrow - after a decade in the research world, for the next two years I'm going to be working with National Trust for Scotland learning what it takes to be an independent lichen surveyor.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 11/01/2026
100%. Creativity of thought is at the core of research. Ever tried asking an LLM to generate a hypothesis based on information within a dataset? I haven't, but I can't imagine it would be anything other than nonsense.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 04/01/2026
Another one from the Tafraout granite. This looks superficially like some images of Acarospora strigata (I've never seen this in person so just having a stab...)
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 03/01/2026
No chems or microscopy unfortunately as lichens aren't the primary objective of this particular trip...
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 03/01/2026
Some neat Psoras from near Tafraout in Morocco. The first I'm guessing is P. decipiens complex (I was wondering if P. savizcii given the pink squamules, but uncertain of the gypsum content of the soil). The second, looking very green after rain, I'm unsure. @annevankow.bsky.social any thoughts?
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 16/12/2025
Great to see this out!
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
peteconvey.bsky.social @peteconvey.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
Ecography - Wiley Online Library nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
How the small host the small: cryptogam trait‐mediated structuring of Antarctic microarthropod communities
Primary producers shape terrestrial biodiversity, but most research has focused on vascular plants, while the role of cryptogams (mosses, lichens and algae) remains under-explored. Cryptogams dominat....
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Elia Guariento @eliaguariento.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Want to work on biodiversity in the Alps? ⛰️ We are offering several internship positions for the upcoming spring and summer in collaboration with the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol 🕷️🦋🦇🐜🌼🦗🪱 biodiversity.eurac.edu/interns-want...
biodiversity.eurac.edu
Interns wanted! - Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Agristok @agristok.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
PhD Position in Taxonomic and Molecular Diversity of Epiphytic Lichens, Bryophytes & Microorganisms at Future Forests, University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg’s Excellence Cluster Future Forests invites applications for a PhD position researching the taxonomic and molecular diversity of…
agristok.net
PhD Position in Taxonomic and Molecular Diversity of Epiphytic Lichens, Bryophytes & Microorganisms at Future Forests, University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg’s Excellence Cluster Future Forests invites applications for a PhD position researching the taxonomic and molecular diversity of lichens, bryophytes, and associated microorganisms. Learn more about the project, tasks, requirements, salary, and how to apply by January 12, 2026.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 01/12/2025
Yikes
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Reposted by Nathan Chrismas
Howard Lee @hlee.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
This paper raises the possibility that lichens had evolved by the late Ordovician, contemporary with earliest vascular plants 🧪⚒️ www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
The rise of lichens during the colonization of terrestrial environments
Evidence reveals Spongiophyton as one of the earliest and most widespread lichens in Earth’s history.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 22/11/2025
Great article about fieldwork in Iceland this summer (in Icelandic but Google Translate does a decent job). I was invited to join by lichenologist Starri Heiðmarsson who I met thanks to the @ukarcticoffice.bsky.social UK-Iceland Arctic Science Partnership Scheme heimildin.is/grein/25295/...
heimildin.is
Hver vill búa á hrikalegu jökulskeri?
Í sumar gekk fjölþjóðlegur hópur náttúrufræðinga yfir Breiðamerkurjökul og upp í afskekktu jökulskerin Esjufjöll. Þau voru þangað komin til að skoða hvernig líf þróast og tekur land undan hopandi jökl...
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 22/11/2025
Hi Sim! So, I think it's more halotolerant rather than halophilic. NaCl is pretty horrible for a lot of things, so just by being more resilient X.p. gets a competitive advantage near the sea. I reckon the mechanisms that help it deal with nitrate stress and salt stress are probably related though.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 22/11/2025
Some interesting implications for pollution tolerance if summers were to get drier.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 22/11/2025
Nitrates can really mess up lichens, but Xanthoria seems to deal with it pretty well. This article suggests that hydration plays a role, with Xanthoria better able to cope with stress when moist and metabollically active. #lichenresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Hydration-driven metabolic activity enhances the resilience of Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. to nitrate stress
Lichens can utilise nitrogen in molecular, reduced, and oxidized forms, but they preferentially use ammonium due to low energetic cost of its assimila…
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 20/11/2025
A while ago I did a little experiment in getting a LLM to write some code to draw pictures of lichens. It was very apparent that it had no idea what it was doing. Looks like the situation hasn't gotten any better.
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 19/11/2025
Always a great read Adam
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 05/11/2025
I'm sure you can find it on the fells without having to get any ropes out! The Cumbria crew might know a good spot for it @onloughrigg.bsky.social @chriscant.bsky.social @northernhills.bsky.social
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Nathan Chrismas @thevagrantlichenologist.com · 05/11/2025
Yeah, I did wonder parasite at one point, but Schaereria checks out fungi.myspecies.info/taxonomy/ter...
fungi.myspecies.info
Schaereria cinereorufa
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