Ticolichen: Training

Ticholichen: Tho Costa Rican Lichen Biodiversity Inventory

Training - Parataxonomists

Supported by NSF funds (subcontract to INBio), José Luis Chaves was hired as a parataxonomist by INBio in 2002 to work for the TICOLICHEN project until 2005. His tasks include sampling of lichens at remote places which are difficult to access for a larger group. He was also trained in mounting, labeling, databasing and identifying lichen specimens at INBio, and he is developing web information on lichens for the INBio website (ATTA, UBI's). José Luis Chaves has extensive experience as a parataxonomist collecting higher plants throughout Costa Rica, and has been working as volunteer in the National Park Service. During his first two years of working with lichens, José has collected amazing material including new taxa, and he has learned to recognize almost lichen genera and many species. Enia Navarro, Issac Lopez, Eduardo Alvarado, Ronald Rodriguez, and Eida Fletes, currently working as database specialists at INBio and as parataxonomist in the macrofungi and collectable microfungi surveys in different conservation areas, have been joining the TICOLICHEN team on several occassions and received training in the collection, mounting, and identification of lichens. Ronald Rodriguez has recently joined the TICOLICHEN team until 2005, to work together with José Luis Chaves on the databasing and identification of specimens and the compilation of species pages on the INBio website.

continue to UCR Lichen Course >>