Arve Elvebakk
Professor in botany and (until 31 Dec 2022) curator of Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden
Job description
Leadership of Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden, based from an office there during half of the year, includes a very wide array of tasks. It includes cooperation with a very competent staff of gardeners, in addition to a summer staff including trainees and cafe hosts. Management and labelling of collections are time-consuming duties, and developing the unique rock landscapes simulating arctic-alpine nature has been very stimulating. A wide contact with all categories of visitors has initiated many different activities, such as presenting the green evolution as seen from the Garden, in addition to presenting various collections and plant groups, and evaluating the Garden in relation to the Climate Change. Reasearch is mostly taking place during winter months, see the separate presentation of research interests.
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Research interests
Arctic botany and bioclimatology
My research interest was previously focused on arctic botany and bioclimatology. I have made reviews on the vegetation types of Svalbard (Elvebakk 1994), produced a catalogue of all known botanic species in Svalbard (Elvebakk & Prestrud 1996), and presented a coarse-scale vegetation map of Svalbard (Elvebakk 2005). I was also an active member of the group led by S.A. Walker producing the Circompolar Arctic Vegetation Map, and the map of bioclimatic zones presented there is mainly based on Elvebakk et al. (1999), wheras the names of these zones applied officially in Norway are from Elvebakk (1999). I also developed, together with students, a new method for producing bioclimatic maps on a local scale, like studies from East Greenland (Karlsen & Elvebakk 1995) and Finnmark (Karlsen et al. 2005). During the last decade only scattered publications have been written on arctic topics, however, there is one in press dealing with the bioclimatic zones of northernmost Europe after 20–30 years of Global Change, including a new boundary of the Arctic in northernmost mainland Norway as compared with temperature sums before and after 1990.
Taxonomy of Pannariaceae lichens on a global scale
During the last 20 years this has gradually turned into a major research interest. Lichens previously cathegorized within the genera Psoroma and Pannaria have now turned out to be much more diverse, and together with cooperation partners, Soon Gyu Hong from the Korean Polar Resarch Institute in particular, we have now split out five new genera from these previously too widely defined genera. This group is most interesting on a global scale as its ancestors probably had diversified into austral and non-austral groups already by the Cretaceous. Then the austral group evolved further into two polar-alpine clades (brown psoromas) following the isolation and cooling of Antarctica at 34 Ma adapting to the new tundra-like habitats. With more recent orogenies, this group migrated northwards along mountains of the Americas during the last ice age, and established a well-known bipolar element, which is now being studied in more detail by us. Other migration waves resulted in additional alpine taxa in Australasia and South Africa.
The large genus Pannaria s.l apparently had an evolutionary origin centered in New Zealand, where many new species still are being discovered among all subgroups, whereas there are small sister genera in South America with a stagnated evolution. Two large groups have conquered all temperate to tropical areas of the earth, and have probably an origin among austral groups, but have lost their green algal partner, whereas one small one has become polar-alpine. About 30 new species within the family have been descrined so far by us, in addition to other taxonomic treatments. As there are more to come, this will be my major project during a planned emeritus position starting in 2023.
A separate list of publications and presentations by 2022 is attached below.
Other projects
I have dealt with quite a number of lichen groups also outside of Pannariaceae, in addition to vascular plant studies related to my job in Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden. Some were initiated on the taxonomy of plant groups, as comparative cultivation has proved to be a most efficient way to discover new species, then to be dealt with also including other data sets. So far only one publication on the South American genus Calandrinia has been finished (Elvebakk et al. 2015). From a wide scope of other botanical interest I chose to mention our study on the then forgotten history in Norway on old Sami use of pine forests (Elvebakk & Kirchhefer 2012).
By 2022 I have 63 author citations in the Web of Science Core Collection.
Publications on Pannariaceae lichens
Arve Elvebakk
Elvebakk, A. 2022. Pannaria microphyllizans (Nyl.) P.M.Jørg. from New Zealand restudied and compared with P. athroophylla (Stirt.) Elvebakk & D.J.Galloway and the three new species Pannaria cassa, P. kantvilasii and P. wrightiorum Australasian Lichenology 91: 38–55.
Elvebakk, A. 2022. Psoroma femsjonense (Fr.) Trevis., a misunderstood species possibly extinct from Europe. Graphis Scripta 34; 2: 22–35.
Elvebakk, A. 2022. Pannaria crispella comb. nov. and P. campbelliana Hue, two overlooked lichens from New Zealand. Australasian Lichenology 90: 28–37.
Elvebakk, A. & Elix, J.A. 2021. Psoroma nigropunctatum sp. nov., an alpine lichen in south-eastern Australia related to P. buchananii. Australasian Lichenology 89: 54–61.
Elvebakk, A. 2021. Psoroma inflatum, a new alpine lichen from New Zealand. Australasian Lichenology 89: 49–53.
Elvebakk, A. 2021. Gibbosporina cyanea (Pannariaceae), a new bipartite cyanolichen from Sri Lanka with comparisons to related palaeotropical cyanogenera. Lichenologist 53: 291–298. doi:10.1017/S002428292100027X
Elvebakk, A. 2020. Ei taksonomisk reise frå Gondwanaland til Bønntuva/Romsavákkivárri. Ottar 66; 333: 3–12.
Elvebakk, A., Park, C. H. & Hong, S.G. 2020. Hispidopannaria and Phormopsora, two new and small, but evolutionary old Pannariaceae genera from southern South America. Mycological Progress 19: 1353–1364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-020-01632-1
Elvebakk, A., Hong, S.G., Park, C. H. & Rämä, T. 2020. Psoroma capense and P. esterhuyseniae (Pannariaceae), two new, alpine lichen species from South Africa. Lichenologist 52: 345–352. doi:10.1017/S0024282920000377.
Elvebakk, A. & H.J.M. Sipman. 2020. Gibbosporina revisited: new records from Fiji, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and Queensland, with one species from the Solomon Islands transferred to Pannaria. Australasian Lichenology 87: 52–57.
Fryday, A.M., Elvebakk, A., Anderson, F.L. & Gagnon, J.Y. 2019. Psoroma nivale (Pannariaceae, lichenized ascomycota) a new species with dark, elongate squamules and bacilliform ascospores from arctic Québec, Canada. Lichenologist 51: 419–429.
Elvebakk, A. 2018. Pannaria pyxinoides comb. nov., an overlooked lichen from northern New Zealand. Australasian Lichenology 83: 36–41.
Elvebakk, A. & Tønsberg, T., 2018. Psoroma spinuliferum (Pannariaceae), a new, corticolous lichen species from Alaska with two different types of cephalodia. Bryologist 121: 166–173.
Park, C. H., S. G. Hong & A. Elvebakk. 2018. Psoroma antarcticum, a new lichen species from Antarctica and neighbouring areas. Polar Biology 41: 1083–1090.
Elvebakk, A. & Elix, J.A. 2017. A trio of endemic New Zealand lichens: Pannaria aotearoana and P. gallowayi, new species with a new chemosyndrome, and their relationship with P. xanthomelana. Nova Hedwigia 105: 167–184.
Elvebakk, A. 2016. Lepidocollema polyphyllinum (Pannariaceae) from the Solomon Islands: cephalodium-like structure with two different Nostoc symbionts in dimorphous thalli. Lichenologist 48: 339–341.
Elvebakk, A., Hong, S.G., Park, C.H., Robertsen, E.H. & Jørgensen, P.M. 2016. Gibbosporina, a new genus for foliose and tripartite, Palaeotropic Pannariaceae species previously assigned to Psoroma – ERRATUM. Lichenologist 48: 257.
Elvebakk, A., Hong, S.G., Park, C.H., Robertsen, E.H. & Jørgensen, P.M. 2016. Gibbosporina, a new genus for foliose and tripartite, Palaeotropic Pannariaceae species previously assigned to Psoroma. – Lichenologist 47: 13–52.
Elvebakk, A. 2013. Pannaria minutiphylla and P. pulverulacea, two new and common, austral species, previously interpreted as Psoroma microphyllizans (Nyl.) P.M. Jørg. Lichenologist 45: 9–20.
Elvebakk, A. 2012. An overlooked Psoroma in Denmark and southern parts of Sweden. Graphis Scripta 24: 45–48.
Elvebakk, A. 2012. Pannaria howeana and P. streimannii, two new lichen species endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. – Lichenologist 44: 457–463.
Elvebakk, A. 2012. Pannaria rolfii, a new name for a recently described lichen species. – Nova Hedwigia 93: 505–506.
Elvebakk, A. 2011. Pannaria santessonii, a new, large-squamulose, vicanicin-containing tripartite lichen species from Chile. – Nova Hedwigia 93: 441–451.
Lumbsch, H.T. et al. 2011. One hundred new species of lichenized fungi: a signature of undiscovered global diversity. – Phytotaxa 18: 1–127. (A. Elvebakk is one among 103 authors, and he described Pannaria phyllidiata from Australia here).
Elvebakk, A., E.H. Robertsen, C.H. Park & S.G. Hong. 2010. Psorophorus and Xanthopsoroma, two new genera for yellow-green, corticolous and squamulose lichen species, formerly in Psoroma. – Lichenologist 42: 563–585.
Elvebakk, A., E. Robertsen, D. Papaephthimiou & A. Liaimer. 2008. Phylogenetic patterns among Nostoc cyanobionts within bi- and tripartite lichens of the genus Pannaria. – Journal of Phycology 44: 1049–1059.
Elvebakk, A., J. Fritt-Rasmussen & J.A. Elix. 2007. The New Zealand lichen Pannaria leproloma (Nyl.) P.M. Jørg. and its panaustral relative P. farinosa nom. nov. – Lichenologist 39: 349–359.
Elvebakk, A. 2007. The panaustral lichen Pannaria sphinctrina (Mont.) Tuck. and the related new species P. lobulifera from New Caledonia. – Cryptogamie, Mycologie 28: 225–235.
Elvebakk, A. & J.E. Elix. 2006. Pannaria isidiosa, a new lichen species from Australia with a new chemosyndrome. – Lichenologist 38: 557–563.
Elvebakk, A. & Bjerke, J.W. 2005: Pannaria isabellina (Vain.) comb. nov., a remarkable lichen from Chile. – Lichenologist 37: 47–54.
Elvebakk, A. & Galloway, D.J. 2003. Notes on the heterogeneous genus Psoroma s. lat. in New Zealand. – Australasian Lichenologist 53: 4–9.
International presentations on Pannariaceae
Elvebakk, A. 2020. The elusive perispores of Pannariaceae lichens. Tromsø Museum Botany: Workshop on fungal spores for palaeoecology and archaecology, Jan. 30–31 2020, Tromsø.
Elvebakk, A., Robertsen, E.H., Hong, S.G. & Park, C.H. 2016. ‘Dispositio Psoromatum et Pannariarum’ – Version 4.0. – The 8th IAL Symposium Lichens in Deep Time, Helsinki, Finland, Aug 1-5, 2016, Abstract Book, p. 64.
Park, C.H., Kim, E.H., Noh, H.-J., Elvebakk, A. & Hong, S.G. 2016. Diversity and biogeography of symbiotic microalgae of the lichen genus Psoroma. – The 8th IAL Symposium Lichens in Deep Time, Helsinki, Finland, Aug 1-5, 2016, Abstract Book, p. 54.
Elvebakk, A., Park, C.H. & Hong, S.G. 2016. Pannariaceae lichens: model organisms for global evolutionary patterns. International Meeting of the Microbiological Society of Korea, April 20-22, 2016, Gwangju, Korea, Proceedings pp. 76-77.
Elvebakk, A. 2016. Pannariaceae lichens: model organisms for global evolutionary patterns. Presentation at Korean Polar Research Institute, Incheon, Korea, 22 April 2016.
Elvebakk, A. 2013. In honorem patris pannariacearum – recent developments in Pannariaceae lichen research. Lichen seminar in honour of prof. Per Magnus Jørgensen, University of Bergen, June 7, 2013.
Hong, S.G., C.H. Park, E.H. Kim & A. Elvebakk. 2011. Phylogeography of the Psoroma hypnorum complex. Asian Mycological Congress, Aug. 11, Seoul.
Elvebakk, A., E. Robertsen, C. H. Park, A. Liaimer & S. G. Hong. 2008. A revision and a molecular phylogeny of the austral and partly bipolar lichen genus Psoroma. The 15th International Symposium on Polar Sciences, Incheon, Korea, Sept. 24–26, 2008. A similar presentation given as a guest lecture at the National Institute of Biological Resources, Incheon, Korea, Sept 23, 2008.
Elvebakk, A. 2007. An ongoing revision of psoromoid lichens. 18th Meeting of Australasian Lichenologists, Traralgon, Australia, April 2008.
Elvebakk, A. 2007. Biodiversidad de líquenes psoromoídos – en Chile y en el mundo. Guest lecture at Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile, Nov. 2007.
Teaching
Previously, I had a lot of teaching and supervision of students (4 dr. students, 14 master students), however, since 2006, teaching duites have been replaced by leading the Garden, and now I only have marginal teaching activities.
Member of research group
Member of project
CV
I was born in Lødingen, North Norway in 1951, and after studies at what is now the NTNU University in Trondheim I was employed at UiT in 1979. During almost three decades I was in a teaching and research position at the former Dept. of Biology, now Dept. of Arctic and Marine Biology. As outlined below ‘Research Interests’, my profile then was on arctic botany and bioclimatology, based on extensive field work in Svalbard, partly also in Canada and East Greenland. I participated in various Arctic research networks.
In 2006 I moved to Tromsø University Museum, first with an overlap period, to a new position as leader of Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic Garden. Leaving the peak garden season for Arctic field work became more problematic, and in a museum collection context, taxonomy appeared more relevant than ecology. An already initiated project on taxonomy of a lichen group expanded, due to a series of exciting discoveries. Field work could then take place during our winter in the Southern Hemisphere, where the group has its centre. Their evolutionary processes appear to be linked to most of the important geological events during the earth’s 100 Ma years or so, and the Pleistocene ice ages brought representatives also to our part of the world. My project with cooperation partners now aims to describe new species and redefine existing ones as an aim in its own, but also as pieces of a puzzle in an attempt to reconstruct patterns in its evolutionary history, which is a very exciting one.
For more details, see formulation on research interests.
From 2023 onwards I plan to be a in a prof. emeritus position and continue my research interests.