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Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist, known for his extensive research on
foliicolous lichen A foliicolous lichen is a lichen which grows on the surfaces of living leaves of vascular plants, usually inhabiting the upper surface (''epiphyllous'') but sometimes also the lower surface (''hypophyllous''). Foliicolous lichens largely occur in ...
s (lichens that live on leaves) and his significant contributions to the
taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
, ecology, and
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
of fungi and lichens. He earned his master's and PhD from the
University of Ulm Ulm University () is a public university in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University was founded in 1967 and focuses on natural sciences, medicine, engineering sciences, mathematics, economics and computer science. With 9,891 studen ...
, focusing on foliicolous lichens. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Mason E. Hale Award for his doctoral thesis, the
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss people, Swiss botany, botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple ...
prize for his
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
, and the Tuckerman Award twice for his publications in the scientific journal '' The Bryologist''. Since 2015, Lücking has been serving as the
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
of
lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s,
fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
, and
bryophyte Bryophytes () are a group of embryophyte, land plants (embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic Division (taxonomy), division referred to as Bryophyta ''Sensu#Common qualifiers, sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular pla ...
s at the
Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum The Berlin Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum () is a botanical garden in the locality of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. Constructed between 1897 and 1910 under the guidance of architect Adolf Engler, it has an area of and over 20,000 di ...
, overseeing a vast
scientific collection A scientific collection is a collection of items that are preserved, catalogued, and managed for the purpose of scientific study. Scientific collections dealing specifically with organisms plants, fungi, animals, insects and their remains, may al ...
and contributing to major advancements in
molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
in lichenology. Lücking has authored or co-authored the description of more than 1000
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : 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 name and ...
, making him one of the most prolific modern lichenologists. His role extends beyond research as he is actively involved in editorial duties for key lichenological journals and has played a critical role in advising on conservation and
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
projects globally. Several lichen species and a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
have been named in his honour.


Education and career

Robert Lücking was born in 1964 in
Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...
, southern Germany. He was introduced to lichenology through his interest in photography, a hobby that led him to explore tropical
foliicolous lichen A foliicolous lichen is a lichen which grows on the surfaces of living leaves of vascular plants, usually inhabiting the upper surface (''epiphyllous'') but sometimes also the lower surface (''hypophyllous''). Foliicolous lichens largely occur in ...
s during his study year abroad in Costa Rica. Inspired by his supervisor, the late bryologist Sieghard Winkler, Lücking chose to study these leaf-dwelling lichens. This marked the beginning of his exploration into lichens, paving the way for his future career. He completed his master's degree in 1990 and his PhD in 1994 at the University of Ulm, with both degrees focusing on the taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity of foliicolous lichens. In 1996, Lücking was awarded the Mason E. Hale award for an "outstanding doctoral thesis presented by a candidate on a lichenological theme". His thesis was titled ("Foliicolous lichens and their microhabitat preferences in a tropical rainforest in Costa Rica"). In this work, Lücking recorded 177 foliicolous lichen species from the
shrub layer In ecology, stratification refers to the vertical layering of a habitat; the arrangement of vegetation in layers. It classifies the layers (sing. ''stratum'', pl. ''strata'') of vegetation largely according to the different heights to which their p ...
in a Costa Rican
tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...
. Lücking later won the 2008 Augustin Pyramus de Candolle prize for a
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
he published based on this work; this award is given every four years by the to "reward the author or -authors of the best monograph of a genus or family of plants". In this 866-page work, Lücking compiled the revised nomenclature, description, ecology and distribution, and specimen information for 616 species and 15 infrageneric taxa. The monograph, estimated to cover descriptions of approximately 70% of the world's known foliicolous lichens at that time, was favourably compared to and deemed a worthy successor of the seminal 1952 work on these lichens by Rolf Santesson. Following the publication of this monograph, he was described by the Austrian lichenologist Martin Grube as "today's leading expert on foliicolous lichens". Around this time in his career, Lücking was noted to have spent more than six years studying in the field, on all five continents and in over 20 countries. He had supervised or was supervising about fifteen diploma projects and a dozen theses dedicated to the study of foliicolous lichens and related topics. With financial backing from the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
(NSF), he initiated TICOLICHEN, the first major modern inventory of lichen biodiversity in a tropical country. After a short-term assignment as a visiting professor in
Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
, Brazil, he undertook a two-year
post-doctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...
stint in Ulm to further study foliicolous lichens. Lücking earned his
habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
from his studies (1998–2001) at the
University of Bayreuth The University of Bayreuth (German: Universität Bayreuth) is a public research university located in Bayreuth, Germany. It is one of the youngest German universities. It is broadly organized into seven undergraduate and graduate faculties, with ...
, under the supervision of Gerhard Rambold. In 2001, he was hired as adjunct
curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...
at Chicago's
Field Museum of Natural History The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...
, and was later promoted to research collections manager for mycology. Lücking and co-authors have twice been bestowed with the Tuckerman Award from the
American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was original ...
; this award is given to the most outstanding lichenological paper published each year in the scientific journal '' The Bryologist''. The first (awarded in 2008) was for their publication about the
Gomphillaceae The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions. The family underwent a major molecular phylogenetics-led reorganisation in 2023, in which 17 genera were ...
in eastern North America, while the second (awarded in 2017) was the highly cited "2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota". As the Field Museum's adjunct curator, Lücking led a NSF-funded project that hosted 42 workshops on tropical mycology and lichenology across 16 Latin American countries, engaging 648 participants from 24 countries. This initiative supported over 50 theses and produced more than 50 collaborative scientific papers, including the discovery of over a hundred new species. Since 1 July 2015, Lücking has been the curator of lichens, fungi, and bryophytes at the
Berlin Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum The Berlin Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum () is a botanical garden in the locality of the borough of , Berlin, Germany. Constructed between 1897 and 1910 under the guidance of architect Adolf Engler, it has an area of and over 20,000 di ...
, overseeing the management, curation, and
digitisation Digitization is the process of converting information into a Digital data, digital (i.e. computer-readable) format.Collins Dictionary. (n.d.). Definition of 'digitize'. Retrieved December 15, 2021, from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ...
of a
collection Collection or Collections may refer to: Computing * Collection (abstract data type), the abstract concept of collections in computer science * Collection (linking), the act of linkage editing in computing * Garbage collection (computing), autom ...
that encompasses approximately one million species. Other research interests of his include fungal evolution,
systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...
, and
nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...
. He is a prolific author (or coauthor) of new fungal and lichen species, having formally described about 1000 of them as of December 2017. Early in his career, from 1993 to 2000, Lücking compiled 250 issues of an
exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...
series (sets of dried and labelled
herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...
specimens) titled . Lücking was the lead author of a 2020 study that documented the discovery and potential extinction of a new species of lichen, '' Cora timucua'', identified through
DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
of museum specimens collected in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
between 1885 and 1985. The research highlighted the critical endangerment of ''C. timucua'', possibly extinct due to
habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
, with its native pine scrub habitat largely replaced by
urbanisation Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
and agriculture. The study demonstrated the significance of digitised
museum collections A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...
in uncovering previously misidentified species and emphasises the need to conserve remaining habitats to protect undiscovered or poorly understood lichen diversity. Lücking is serving or has served on the editorial boards of some
scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
s, including '' The Bryologist'', '' Mycosphere'', and '' The Lichenologist''.


Research perspectives

Reflecting on developments in lichenology in a 2021 interview, Lücking said that the advent of
molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
had reshaped how researchers draw evolutionary relationships and delimit species. He emphasised the value of collaborative, cross‑disciplinary work and welcomed the growing contribution of scientists from biodiversity‑rich countries. Lücking added that forthcoming genomic studies should clarify the mechanisms of lichen symbiosis and refine ecological understanding. He expected continued growth in lichen taxonomy and systematics, alongside wider use of
biomonitoring In analytical chemistry, biomonitoring is the measurement of the body burden of toxic chemical compounds, elements, or their metabolites, in biological substances. Often, these measurements are done in blood and urine. Biomonitoring is performe ...
to track
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
effects. He also expressed hope that emerging technologies would better integrate herbarium specimens into phylogenetic and genomic research, unlocking historical ecological data. To early‑career lichenologists he recommended a strong grounding in taxonomy, competence in
bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field of science that develops methods and Bioinformatics software, software tools for understanding biological data, especially when the data sets are large and complex. Bioinformatics uses biology, ...
, and a questioning approach, coupled with open sharing of data and results.


Eponymy

Several lichen species have been named to honour Lücking. These include: ''
Aspidothelium lueckingii ''Aspidothelium'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Thelenellaceae. All species in the genus have a tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contr ...
'' ; '' Byssoloma lueckingii'' ; '' Calenia lueckingii'' ; '' Chapsa lueckingii'' ; '' Coenogonium lueckingii'' ; '' Dictyomeridium lueckingii'' ; '' Enterographa lueckingii'' ; '' Graphis lueckingiana'' ; '' Graphis lueckingii'' ; '' Hypotrachyna lueckingii'' ; '' Kalbographa lueckingii'' ; '' Mazosia lueckingii'' ; '' Palicella lueckingii'' ; '' Pertusaria lueckingii'' ; '' Phlyctis lueckingii'' ; '' Platygramme lueckingii'' ; and '' Thelotrema lueckingii'' . The genera '' Lueckingia'' and '' Rolueckia'' are also named after him.


Selected publications

Lücking is a highly published scientist, and has formally described hundreds of lichens and other fungal
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : 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 name and ...
new to science. By the age of 44, he had published more than 160 scientific papers, about 100 of which he was the lead author. A few of his major or highly cited works include: * * * * * * * * *


See also

* :Taxa named by Robert Lücking


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lücking, Robert Living people 1964 births German lichenologists German taxonomists 20th-century German biologists 21st-century German biologists People from Ulm University of Ulm alumni People associated with the Field Museum of Natural History