Feature Creature

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Welcome to the feature creature page. Here you will find short articles on different marine creatures. A new article will be featured each month.

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LICHENS

Lichens are organisms with a simple structure formed by fungus and algae. They are fantastic examples of symbiosis, which is a relationship between two organisms gaining mutual benefits from each other. Their ‘body’ (called the thallus) comprises of the fungi’s branching filaments and is typically a greenish gray colour due to the chlorophyll (used for photosynthesis) found in the algae. The colours of different species of lichens can range from orange, red, yellow or black, just to name a few. Worldwide, there are about 25,000 species of lichens with about 2,300 found in Australia .

They are slow growing requiring only light, air and minerals. Lichens can withstand extreme temperatures with species found in both arctic and tropical regions. Marine lichens can be spotted in the high zone of the rocky shore where it is nice and dry often covering boulders and cliff faces with splashes of colour.

Lichens are prone to any pollutants carried by rain water or severe weather which can pull them from the rocks. They are also a food source for the little purple-blue periwinkle snail which rasps the lichen off the rock with its radula (a tongue-like structure covered with microscopic teeth). Lichens have also been used as a natural dye for silk and wool products with many dyes still derived from lichens today.

Don’t forget to check out their fascinating shapes and colours next time you’re on a rockpool ramble!

Written by Ivon Sebastian

Photographs by Ivon Sebastian