Klaus Kalb (born 1942) is a German lichenologist and an authority on tropical lichens.

Biography

Klaus Kalb was born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

in 1942 and grew up in southern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. From 1960 to 1965 he studied biology, chemistry, and geography at the

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (german: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, FAU) is a public research university in the cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The name Friedrich–Alexander comes from the univ ...

. Kalb was greatly interested in lichens and decided to pursue a

doctoral degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

; his thesis work was about lichen communities in the

Ötztal Alps The Ötztal Alps ( it, Alpi Venoste, german: Ötztaler Alpen) are a mountain range in the Central Eastern Alps, in the State of Tyrol in western Austria and the Province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. Geography The Ötztal Alps are arrayed ...

. From 1978–1981 he was a teacher at the Colégio Visconde de Porto Seguro in

São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

. This position afforded him the opportunity to initiate research into tropical lichens. Kalb earned his habilitation from the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on 18 ...

in 1989, becoming an associate professor with that institution. In 2014, the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

herbarium purchased Kalb's lichen collection of 60,000 specimens for $75,000. With the acquisition of Kalb's collection, rich in tropical and European specimens, the herbarium houses about 70% of the world's known lichen

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

Recognition

In 2007, on the occasion of his retirement, Kalb was honoured with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

, featuring 24 scientific papers written by 51 authors. The Festschrift included a publication list, a list of

described by him and of taxa named after him.

Eponyms

Three lichen genera have been named in honour of Kalb: '' Kalbiana'' ; '' Kalbographa'' ; and '' Kalbionora'' . Many species have also been named to honour Kalb. These include: '' Acanthothecis kalbii'' ; '' Acanthotrema kalbii'' ; '' Astrochapsa kalbii'' ; '' Byssoloma kalbii'' '' Caloplaca kalbiorum'' ; '' Chaenothecopsis kalbii'' '' Chapsa kalbii'' ; '' Cladina kalbii'' ; '' Coenogonium kalbii'' ; '' Compsocladium kalbii'' ; '' Enterographa kalbii'' ; '' Gyalideopsis kalbii'' ; '' Heterodermia kalbii'' ; '' Hypotrachyna kalbii'' ; '' Hypotrachyna klauskalbii'' ; '' Lecanora kalbiana'' ; '' Lecanora klauskalbii'' ; '' Lecidea kalbii'' ; '' Leptogium kalbii'' ; '' Megalospora kalbii'' ; '' Musaespora kalbii'' ; '' Ocellularia kalbii'' ; '' Opegrapha blakii'' ; '' Opegrapha kalbii'' ; '' Pertusaria kalbii'' ; '' Phaeographis kalbii'' ; '' Phyllopsora kalbii'' ; '' Physcia kalbii'' ; '' Piccolia kalbii'' ; '' Pseudocyphellaria kalbi'' ; '' Pseudoparmelia kalbiana'' ; '' Rinodina kalbii'' ; '' Roselliniella kalbii'' ; '' Trichothelium kalbii'' ; '' Usnea kalbiana'' ; '' Xanthoparmelia kalbii'' ; '' Xanthoparmelia klauskalbii'' ; ''

Xanthoparmelia neokalbii ''Xanthoparmelia'' (commonly known as green rock shields or rock-shield lichens) is a genus of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, ''Xanthoparmelia'' is syn ...

'' ; and '' Lecanora kalbii'' .

Selected publications

As of 2012, Kalb had about 120 scientific publications, particularly on tropical lichens. Some of his major works include: * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalb, Klaus 1942 births Living people German lichenologists German taxonomists Scientists from Nuremberg 20th-century German scientists 21st-century German scientists University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Regensburg

Biography

Recognition

Eponyms

Selected publications

See also

References