Dr. James C. Lendemer

Curator of Botany
518-473-6511

Ph.D., Biology: Plant Science, 2012, CUNY Graduate Center New York, NY 
M.Phil., Biology, 2010, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY 
B.A., Biology, 2006, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 

My research focuses on the botanical diversity of land-based ecosystems in eastern North America. This emphasizes understanding not only biological diversity, but the relationships among botanical organisms and their environments through extensive study in nature and in museum collections. In particular, I use lichens, which are sensitive to disturbance and pollution, as a way to demonstrate how ecosystems change over time and how these changes may result in increased need for conservation. As the Curator of Botany, I oversee the collection of algae, bryophytes, lichens and plants. The NYSM collection is an essential resource that documents botanical diversity in New York and beyond. The growth, maintenance, and digitization of this collection is a core part of my research that supports a much broader community of naturalists and educators.

Publications

2024

K. White, K. Keepers, N. Kane, J. Lendemer, T. Giraud 2024, Discovery of new genomic configuration of mating-type loci in the largest lineage of lichen-forming-fungi, Genome Biology and Evolution , evae094. 10.1093/gbe/evae094
G. Vagle, J. Lendemer, E. Manzitto-Tripp, C. McCain 2024, Patterns and predictors of lichen rarity in a biodiversity hotspot, Biodiversity and Conservation , . 10.1007/s10531-024-02795-z
\L. Ptach-Styn, Guzow-Krzemi\ nska, J. Lendemer, T. T\onsberg, M. Kukwa 2024, Phylogeny of the genus Loxospora s.l. (Sarrameanales, Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota), with Chicitaea gen. nov. and five new combinations in Chicitaea and Loxospora, MycoKeys 102, 155–181. 10.3897/mycokeys.102.116196
S. LaGreca, G. Tocci, L. Briscoe, J. Lendemer 2024, Typification of the Lace Lichen,Ramalina menziesii Taylor—and its synonyms—reiterates the need for complete typification of names for well-known or iconic taxa, TAXON , . 10.1002/tax.13164
J. Hollinger, P. Scott, J. Lendemer 2024, Two new species of lichenicolous Arthonia (Arthoniaceae) from southeastern North America highlight the need for comparative studies of lichen parasites and their hosts, The Bryologist 127, 1-21. 10.1639/0007-2745-127.1.00110.1639/0007-2745-127.1.001.s1
L. Boggess, C. McCain, E. Manzitto-Tripp, S. Pearson, J. Lendemer 2024, Disturbance and diversity: Lichen species richness decreases with increasing anthropogenic disturbance, Biological Conservation 293, 110598. 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110598

2023

J. Lendemer 2023, Studies in Lichens and Lichenicolous Fungi – No. 23: Notes on Appalachian taxa including newly reported disjunctions and multiple species new to North America, Opuscula Philolichenum 22, 81–97.
J. Howland, J. Lendemer 2023, Molecular and phenotypic study put eastern North American Cetrelia in a global context of biogeography and phylogeny, The Bryologist 126, . 10.1639/0007-2745-126.4.461
J. Allen, S. Sharrett, E. Denzer, J. Lendemer 2023, A CURE in traits and species distributions: Reproductive modes, range sizes, and natural history collections., QUBES Educational Resources , . 10.25334/64VV-KS97