Article by Biology Instructor Receives Best Paper Award

An article in the journal Phycologia coauthored by Joseph Richards, an instructor in our Biology Department, received the Tyge Christensen Prize for 2023.

The Tyge Christensen Prize is awarded annually for the best paper published in Phycologia during the previous year and consists of a cash award, as well as commemorative certificates, for the authors.

The 59 papers published in Phycologia in 2023 (Volume 62) were evaluated by a panel of 10 judges. Scientific significance, originality of the subject matter or techniques, comprehensiveness and clarity of presentation are the criteria considered by the judges for the choice of the winning paper. In its announcement The International Phycological Society indicated that it was pleased to announce that the 2023 Tyge Christensen Prize was awarded to Paul W. Gabrielson, Jeffery R. Hughey, Viviana Peña, Joseph L. Richards, Gary W. Saunders, Brenton Twist, Tracy Farr, and Wendy A. Nelson for their paper: "Asia Pacific Sporolithon (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta) species revised based on DNA sequencing of type specimens and including S. crypticum sp. nov., S. immotum sp. nov., and S. nodosum sp. nov.", Phycologia, 62(6), 593–607. The paper is available through this link.

The note describing the Prize, available at this link, summarized the paper and its importance as follows.

"One major challenge of modern taxonomy is to link specimens, from which sequences are available, to previously named species which of course are linked to type material. The unmistakably best way of doing that is sequencing the type material (holotype material if available), but many technological difficulties hinder the advancement of historical type sequencing. In this fine study, Gabrielson and colleagues manage to obtain DNA sequence for seven type specimens of species for the genus Sporolithon, which is an amazing progress considering that the genus has around 33 recognized extant species. These data, taken together with previously types that were sequenced, now encompass 22 species for which the authors review their geographic distribution worldwide. The paper makes a significant contribution for the understanding of taxonomy and species distribution for this relevant genus of rhodolith forming calcareous algae."

Photo caption: Clockwise from upper left: Paul Gabrielson; Jeff Hughey; Viviana Peña; Joe Richards; Wendy Nelson; Tracy Farr; Brenton Twist; Gary Saunders.