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

2014

A. Kozlowski, R. Feranec, D. Franzi 2014, A New Record of Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida) from the Late Pleistocene Champlain Sea and Comments on Its Age and Paleoenvironment, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34, 230-235. 10.1080/02724634.2013.784706

2013

R. Feranec, N. Famoso, E. Davis 2013, Occlusal Enamel Complexity and Its Implications for Lophodonty, Hypsodony, Body Mass, and Diet in Extinct and Extant Ungulates, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 387, 211-216. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.07.006
R. Feranec, D. Pagnac 2013, Stable Carbon Isotope Evidence for the Abundance of C4 Plants in the Middle Miocene of Southern California, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 388, 42-47. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.07.022

2012

A. Kozlowski, R. Feranec 2012, New AMS Radiocarbon Dates from Late Pleistocene Mastodons and Mammoths in New York State, USA, Radiocarbon 54, 275-279. 10.2458/azu_js_rc.v54i2.16009

2011

R. Feranec 2011, Global Problems., Global Research. Legacy: The Magazine of the New York State Museum 6, 14-15
Hart, J., Anderson, L., Feranec, R., 2011. Additional Evidence for cal. Seventh-Century A.D. Maize Consumption at the Kipp Island Site, New York, in: Rieth, C., Hart, J. (Eds.), Current Research in New York State Archaeology: A.D. 700-1300. The University of the State of New York, Albany, New York, pp. 27-40.
R. Kays, R. Feranec 2011, Using Stable Carbon Isotopes to Distinguish Wild from Captive Wolves, Northeast Naturalist 18, 253-264. 10.1656/045.018.0301
N. Miller, R. Feranec, J. Lothrop, R. Graham 2011, The Sporormiella proxy and End-Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction: A Perspective, Quaternary International 245, 333-338. 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.06.004

2010

R. Feranec, N. Garcia, J. Arsuaga, J. Diez 2010, Understanding the Ecology of Mammalian Carnivorans and Herbivores from Valdegoba Cave (Burgos, Northern Spain) Through Stable Isotope Analysis, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 297, 263-272. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.08.006
R. Feranec, E. Hadly, A. Paytan 2010, Isotopes Reveal Limited Effects of Middle Pleistocene Climate Change on the Ecology of Mid-sized Mammals, Quaternary International 217, 43-52. 10.1016/j.quaint.2009.07.018