The mission of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) is to provide a university-wide forum for Central Washington University (CWU) students, encouraging equity, diversity, and inclusivity, representing all disciplines and experience levels, to present their mentored research, scholarship, and creative works in a juried environment that meets professional conference standards and expectations.
The 2022 SOURCE program is hybrid. Pre-recorded virtual talks are colored green and can be watched anytime. Live/in-person sessions with Zoom access can be found in the daily schedule. Thank you for joining us!
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Multiple species of lichen occupy different environments at Frenchman Coulee near Quincy Washington. Lichen is a composite organism arising from symbiotic relationship between an alga and fungus. The purpose of our research was to determine whether lichen was more abundant on talus slopes or boulders. The boulders are large, immobile rocks on the valley floor, while the talus is smaller, loose basalt rocks on the hillslope. We hypothesized that there would be a greater percent coverage of lichen on the boulders than the talus. The boulders are not easily moved, possibly providing the lichen a greater chance to grow undisturbed, while the talus is made up of smaller rocks that might be more easily disturbed. During two trips to Frenchman Coulee on February 21 and 27, 2022, we placed 1-meter square quadrat frames against the west-facing side of basalt boulders and the slopes of the adjacent talus. We measured 40 replicas, 20 of the talus and 20 of the adjacent boulders. Photographs of each plot were analyzed with computer software that placed gridlines over the photos. Each intersection of lines that contacted lichen was counted to calculate the percent coverage of lichen in each quadrat. We found that there was no significant difference between the amount of lichen on the boulders compared with the talus. The results indicate that either the more frequent movement of the talus does not impact the lichens' ability to grow on the rock, or the talus is more stable than we initially proposed.
