Some Lichens and Bryophytes from the Lake Hazen Area, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T., Canada

Abstract

The first report is made for 38 taxa of lichens and 46 of bryophytes from the interior of northern Ellesmere Island. Protoblastenia terricola is cited as new to Canada, and Acarospora molybdina, Cladonia coccifera, Hypogymnia austerodes, Rinodina nimbosa, Squamarina lentigera, Peltolepis quadrata, Andreaea rupestris, and Splachnum ovatum as new to Ellesmere Island. An additional 14 species are reported as northern range extensions for Ellesmere Island. Studies were carried out in the vicinity of Lake northern Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, as part of the scientific program, Operation Hazen, organized by the Defence Research Board of Canada during the International Geophysical Year. As a member of the expedition from August, 1957, to August, 1958, based at Hazen Camp (81°49'N, 71°18'W), I studied the effect of climate on the vegetation, and made an extensive collection of vascular plants (Powell, 1961) and some cryptogams. I was able to return to the area to continue the botanical studies from May to August of 1959. At that time the camp was set up near the snout of the Gilman Glacier (82°03'N, 70°22'W), and the majority of the lichens and bryophytes reported in this paper were collected within a few miles of this point. The interior of northern Ellesmere Island is dominated by Lake Hazen which lies in a trough between the Garfield and United States Ranges to the west and north, and the Greely-Hazen Plateau to the south and east. The lake, which in some years becomes completely free of ice, is 46 miles long and 520 feet above sea level. The nearby peaks of the Garfield Range rise to heights between 3,500 and 4,700 feet, and are separated by valleys through which flow the major rivers fed by the ice fields and glaciers. The Gilman Glacier is one of the largest glaciers draining into Lake Hazen. The area constitutes an arctic desert, receiving only about two inches of precipitation a year. Summer weather conditions, however, are relatively favorable for vegetation, with a frost-free period of eight to ten weeks, and peak temperatures reaching 60°F. Summer conditions at Lake Hazen can be considered continental, with less precipitation, and temperatures about five degrees higher than at coastal stations of the same