Spring 2024
Specimen Tales: Stories and Insights from the William & Lynda Steere Herbarium
Emily Sessa (Director, William & Lynda Steere Herbarium, the New York Botanical Garden)
March 22, 2024 (Annual Banquet and Lecture)
The family Pluteaceae (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) in North America: a decade of molecular studies
Alfredo Justo (Curator of Botany and Mycology, New Brunswick Museum)
March 12, 2024
RECORDING COMING SOON
Dr. Alfredo Justo is the Curator of Botany & Mycology at the New Brunswick Museum (Saint John, Canada). He oversees the curation and growth of the NBM Herbarium, which comprises over 100,000 specimens of plants, fungi, lichens, bryophytes, and algae from New Brunswick and neighboring regions. His research focuses on the fungal diversity of Atlantic Canada, while maintaining ongoing global taxonomic research on selected genera of mushrooms. Dr. Justo’s research merges morphology-based and molecular methods to study the origin, evolution, and current status of fungal biodiversity, especially across North America.
Anatomy of a Superbloom: Soil, Competition, and Survival in the San Joaquin Desert
Emma Fryer (PhD student, ETH Zürich)
February 13, 2024
RECORDING COMING SOON
Currently working on her PhD at ETH Zürich, Emma Fryer completed her Master’s thesis at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she worked with a suite of annual wildflowers native to the San Joaquin Desert of California. These annual wildflowers are part of “superblooms” that have recently attracted international attention to an otherwise overlooked and imperiled ecosystem. On the western edge of the San Joaquin Desert, Carrizo Plain National Monument and the Cantua Creek wilderness are two of the last remaining tracts of intact habitat in the region. Both sites host an unusually high number of rare and endangered plant and animal species. Their highly heterogeneous soils and extreme soil chemistry lead to annual wildflowers blooming in stands dominated by a single species, creating a dramatic mosaic effect across the landscape. Emma’s work with this system has focused on the interplay of competition from invasive annual grasses with soil chemistry and environmental heterogeneity to determine how these factors combine to create the mosaic pattern of the blooms that transform California’s arid regions in springs following high-precipitation winters.
Fall 2023
Weeds, Bees, and Mango Trees: How Weeds May Support Insects in Mango Farms of South Florida
Blaire Kleiman (PhD Student, Florida International University)
November 14, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
As part of their Masters degree, Blaire looked to discover how weeds, or any wild plant, left within a mango farm would affect insect abundance and diversity, to ultimately benefit mango production. Their objective was to examine increasing biodiversity with weeds as refuge resource plants to enhance the abundance and diversity of beneficial insect species, to benefit Mango (Mangifera indica) crop production in South Florida. They found that there was a higher abundance and diversity of beneficial insect species and more fruit on mango trees when weeds are present versus when removed. Leaving flowering weedy wild plants to support beneficial insects can be an option when other insectary companion plants won’t grow, which is increasingly likely in the face of climate change. They also can enhance the diversity of both plants and insects, making tropical farms more resilient to climatic events, diseases, and pests. Now as a PhD student, they are interested in the South Florida growing region, which is vital to the U.S vegetable market by providing wintertime crops such as tomatoes, summer squash, and eggplant. These plants are already being grown in the winter of South Florida at their temperature maximums and are vulnerable to climate change and heat stress. Their PhD study examines how climate change may impact these crop-pollinator systems, by studying the physiology of crops and pollinators, and their interactions in relation to changing climates.
How do species interactions shape the evolution of flowers? A study of California native annual wildflowers in the genus Clarkia
Dr. Katherine Eisen (Postdoctoral Researcher, Lund University (Sweden))
October 10, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Darwin famously identified that species interactions in a “tangled bank” could influence how species evolve. Yet community ecology – the study of species interactions – and evolutionary biology – the study of phenotypic evolution – have been primarily studied in isolation; as a result, we still have limited knowledge of how ecological interactions cause phenotypic change in multiple types of traits, and how the evolutionary effects of these interactions may vary across communities. In flowering plant communities, co-occurring plant species often share pollinators, which can lead to indirect beneficial facilitation or detrimental competition between plant species for pollination. Katherine has studied how pollinator sharing affects the distribution of and trait variation in species in the genus Clarkia, which are annual plants native to the western US. The results of their field- and greenhouse-based studies indicate that patterns of trait evolution in more species- rich communities are not predictable from simpler communities, and that species interactions can affect the evolution of multiple aspects of a species’ phenotype.
A Flora of Coyote Ridge and Flat, Inyo County, California
Martin Purdy (Assistant State Botanist, New Mexico Forestry Division)
September 21, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains are one of the most floristically diverse regions of their size in the United States. Located in the central Sierra Nevada, the area known as Coyote Ridge and Flat marks a topographically and geologically unique part of the range’s eastern slope which has long been known to botanists for harboring populations of rare and disjunct plant taxa. For his MS in Botany at California Botanic Garden (formerly Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden) Marty completed a specimen-based floristic inventory of the vascular and nonvascular plant species of Coyote Ridge and Flat. Fieldwork and herbarium searches conducted for this project documented a total of 547 minimum-rank taxa, 273 of which were not previously known to the area. New collections and the examination of historical specimens yielded occurrences of 12 new rare plants for the area including new records for the Sierra Nevada Mountains and one new record for the state of California. In addition to covering the methods, results, and highlights of his research, Marty also discusses the importance of floristic inventories in our current era of global change and floristics affinities in the Eastern Sierra region.
Spring 2023
An overview of the violets in northeastern North America
Dr. Harvey Ballard (Professor, the Ohio State University)
May 16, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Nearly 60 native and eight introduced violet species make their home in northeastern North America. They belong to many different lineages with varied relationships, evolutionary histories and biogeographic affinities. This talk will first introduce you to the violet family and the genera in our region, and then we will waltz through our violet flora group by group to understand their relationships, distinctions and variation patterns.
Epidemiology of a Disease of Native Lilies in the Southern Appalachians
Dr. Foster “Frosty” Levy (Professor Emeritus, East Tennessee State University)
April 4, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
In the early 1980s, a disease of Gray’s Lily (Lilium grayi) was noted in the unique high elevation grassy bald community of Roan Mountain, NC/TN. The cause of the disease was unknown. This seminar will highlight studies leading to identification of the pathogen and the spatial and temporal dynamics of the disease in Gray’s Lily and four other native lilies. We will discuss conservation challenges caused by an infectious disease epidemic in the target species and we will examine the southern Appalachian communities inhabited by some of these lilies; a grassy bald, a calcareous seep, and a dolomite rock outcrop.
Annual Banquet and Lecture:
A century of change in the structure and composition of a mature urban forest
Eliot Nagele (Director of the Thain Family Forest, the New York Botanical Garden)
March 14, 2023
Historically, urban natural areas have been undervalued and understudied, resulting in a scarcity of baseline data and thereby limiting our understanding of how these systems change over time. The New York Botanical Garden has been monitoring the species composition, structure and associated management of the Thain Family Forest since the late 1800s. In 2002, they established a continuous forest inventory (CFI) to guide ongoing management efforts. Utilizing this combination of baseline and continuous inventory data, this study assesses how the Thain Family Forest has changed alongside rapid urbanization and in response to forest management practices. This presentation will highlight key findings from the work assessing changes in forest structure and composition over time and will serve as a case study for the implementation of adaptive urban forest management programs. The lecture will be accompanied by a small exhibit containing material from the NYBG archives.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Signaling in AMF:
Investigating molecular crosstalk and host regulation under combinatorial nutrient stress
Shawna Rowe (Postdoctoral researcher, University of Cambridge)
February 28, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) are a class of mutualistic, plant root-associated fungi that are believed to have helped make the terrestrialization of modern land plants possible. As an obligate mutualist, AM are dependent on their host plants for carbon in the form of photosynthesis-derived sugars and fatty acids. In return, AM are able provide mineral nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, to their hosts by accessing soil at further distances and greater granularity. This talk will incorporate biochemical, genetic, transcriptomic, and physiological approaches to investigate how nitrogen and phosphorus signaling are involved in the regulation of symbiotic relationships between arbuscular mycorrhizae and host plants, using rice as a model system. Broadly, this work aims to fill in knowledge gaps in plant nutrient uptake both with and without mutualists with the hope of decreasing agricultural dependency on costly synthetic fertilizers.
Not all bad: The gyromitrin mycotoxin has a limited distribution in the controversially edible false morels (Gyromitra spp.) as determined by a new ultra high-performance liquid chromatography method
Alden Dirks (Doctoral student, University of Michigan)
January 31, 2023
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
False morels (Gyromitra spp.) are iconic fungi primarily for what they are not – morels (Morchella spp.), the highly sought after, wild foraged mushrooms. Every morel hunter is taught to recognize and avoid false morels because they may carry a mycotoxin called gyromitrin (acetaldehyde N-methyl-N-formylhydrazone). While there are only a few deaths associated with gyromitrin in recent times, poisonings can result in liver and kidney damage, and repeated exposure may cause neurodegenerative diseases. Despite these risks, some intrepid mushroom hunters enjoy eating false morels. Despite false morels’ infamy as both delicacy and deadly poison, we previously had a limited and largely anecdotal understanding of which species contained the toxin. We developed a new, highly sensitive gyromitrin assay using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography and surveyed the false morel family Discinaceae for gyromitrin production. Gyromitrin has a more limited and discontinuous distribution than expected, consistent with a model of rapid evolution coupled with horizontal transfer.
Fall 2022
The pollen virome of wild plants and its association with variation in floral traits and land use
Dr. Andrea Fetters (Postdoctoral researcher, the Ohio State University)
November 22, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Pollen is a unique vehicle for viral spread. Pollen-associated viruses hitchhike on or within pollen grains and are transported to other plants by pollinators. They are deposited on flowers and have a direct pathway into the plant and next generation via seeds. To discover the diversity of pollen-associated viruses and identify contributing landscape and floral features, we performed a species-level metagenomic survey of pollen from wild, visually asymptomatic plants, located in one of four regions in the United States of America varying in land use. We identified many known and novel pollen-associated viruses, half belonging to the Bromoviridae, Partitiviridae, and Secoviridae viral families, but many families are represented. Across the regions, species harbored more viruses when surrounded by less natural and more human-modified environments than the reverse. When examining the novel connection between virus richness and floral traits, we found that species with multiple, bilaterally symmetric flowers and smaller, spikier pollen harbored more viruses than those with opposite traits. The association of viral diversity with floral traits highlights the need to incorporate plant-pollinator interactions as a driver of pollen-associated virus transport into the study of plant-viral interactions.
The Biology Behind the Zombie-ant Fungi
Dr. João Araújo (Assistant Curator of Mycology, the New York Botanical Garden)
November 1, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
The ability to infect insects arose multiple times along the evolution of Fungi. However, none have shown such broad and sophisticated strategies to infect, persist and transmit spores than the so-called “Zombie-Ant Fungi”. These fungi evolved the ability to make their hosts to leave the colony, climb up to a summit position on plant parts and bite onto the substrate. The infected ant remains attached by locking its mandibles into the plant tissue, which is often further reinforced by fungal structures. A few days after the host’s death, the fungus erupts from their bodies to grow structures that will shower spores on the forest floor, eventually infecting new workers that forage on ground. They also developed a broad range of morphologies, adapted likely in response to the host ecology and morphology. In this talk, Joao presentS how these behavior manipulators arose and which strategies they have developed in order to thrive and spread through several species, becoming a diverse fungal group.
Investigating cytogeographic, morphological, and genetic variation of the multiple-cytotype cactus Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Bethany Zumwalde, Doctoral student (University of Florida)
September 27, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Polyploidy (i.e., whole genome duplication), hybridization, and reticulate evolution have long been recognized as key mechanisms of speciation in the plant family Cactaceae. Polyploidy can result in reproductive isolation, changes in genetic diversity, breeding system discrepancies and gene regulation effects, which consequently can lead to shifts in morphology, physiology, and ecological breadth. Cylindropuntia leptocaulis is the most widespread cholla in North America and comprises three known ploidal levels with varying distributions. The implications of multiple cytotypes in C. leptocaulis on taxonomy, morphology, population genetics, and environmental breadth remain poorly understood. By using an interdisciplinary approach to study polyploidy and its subsequent effects on shaping diversity, this framework has the potential for broader application to other arid-adapted species.
Spring 2022
Native Americans, Smokey the Bear and the rise and fall of oak-pine forests in the eastern US
Dr. Marc D. Abrams (Professor of Forest Ecology and Physiology, Penn State University)
June 28, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
This seminar examines the role of Indigenous people (Native American Indians) land-use and climate in the historical development of Quercus (oak) and Pinus (pine) forests of the eastern United States and changes associated with European colonization. Prior to European settlement, vast areas forests in the eastern U.S. were dominated by fire-adapted, pyrogenic species, mainly oak and pine. As European populations rapidly expanded during the 18th Century onward, much of the northeastern U.S. was impacted by extensive timber harvesting, land clearing, and severe fires. Starting in the 20th Century, a variety of ecological phenomena set in, including old field succession, chestnut blight, fire suppression, intensive deer browsing, and urbanization, resulting in dramatic changes in forest composition and the extent of open lands.
Dr. Abrams’ research, along with others, suggests that the use of prescribed fire and agriculture by Native American Indians were profound, and post-European changes in forest composition were mainly due to an alteration land-use (deforestation followed by fire suppression) rather than climate change. However, the impacts of climate change may become more profound in the future as regional forests are becoming increasingly mesophytic and less tolerant of warming and drought.
From Symbionts to Blooms: Molecular Investigation of Green Algae
Dr. Robin Sleith (Postdoctoral researcher, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)
May 17, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
This talk explores several projects focused on the evolution, diversity, and ecology of green algae. Symbiotic relationships between heterotrophic and phototrophic partners are common across the tree of life. Several species of shell building amoeba (Arcellinida) are associated with microalgae of the genus Chlorella. So far, these symbioses were assumed to be stable and mutualistic, yet details of the interactions are limited. We analyzed single-cell transcriptomes and genomes of the Arcellinida morphospecies Hyalosphenia papilio, which contains Chlorella algae, to shed light on the amoeba-algae association. In the second part of the talk, we discuss progress using eDNA to understand a cryptic algae bloom in a coastal Maine lake with recently reintroduced alewife. We pair metabarcoding, qPCR, and flow cytometry to identify and quantify the bloom forming organism.
Advances in understanding the ecology, evolution, and systematics of the Ocotea complex (Lauraceae)
Dr. Juan Carlos Penagos Zuluaga (Postdoctoral researcher, Yale University/NYBG)
April 12, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
The Lauraceae are a pantropical family with a wide distribution in tropical regions, and a few genera extending to temperate zones. The Ocotea complex, the most diverse lineage of Lauraceae in the Neotropics, contains around 950 species (≥80% of the neotropical species) in 17 genera. Genera on this complex are usually difficult to delimit, creating a taxonomic nightmare. During the past decades, systematists have focused on understanding the relationship among genera using molecular phylogenetics, with limited success. However, recent advances in phylogenomic techniques have allowed us to resolve some of these relationships, giving the opportunity to confront the current taxonomy of the Ocotea complex, test traditional evolutive hypotheses about taxonomic characters and breeding systems, and explore ecological questions.
In this talk, Juan presents the use of phylogenetic definitions (PhyloCode) to overcome limitations with the current taxonomy, and the ancestral reconstruction of four taxonomic characters used to delimit genera in the Ocotea complex. He also discusses advances in understanding fruit shape, leaf anatomy, and pathogen interactions in an evolutionary and ecological framework.
City Nature Challenge 2022: For Plant-lovers and Botanists Alike
Chris Kreussling & Zihao Wang
March 30, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Unlike most other citizen science platforms, iNaturalist allows anyone to record their observations of any living thing anywhere in the world. As it approaches 100 million Observations worldwide, it has become increasingly important to botany and other biological sciences. City Nature Challenge, based on iNaturalist, engages community members in cities and urbanized areas around the world to make observations, and provides opportunities for taxonomic experts to identify them, all over the world. Last year over 400 cities participated, with over 50,000 people documenting over 45,000 species with over 1.2 million observations, the largest bioblitz in the world. In this Torrey Talk, two iNaturalist experts will show how you can participate in iNaturalist and this year’s upcoming City Nature Challenge.
Understanding the evolution of lichen pigments through culturing and metagenomics
Theo Llewellyn (Doctoral student, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew)
March 15, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Fungi produce a vast number of metabolite compounds that shape their interactions with other organisms and the environment. Identifying the genetic mechanisms that underpin metabolite synthesis is therefore key to understanding fungal lifestyles and evolution. Lichenised fungi represent almost one-third of the known Ascomycota (the largest phylum of Fungi) and boast an impressive repertoire of secondary metabolites that enable them to grow in habitats that are otherwise stressful for other organisms. However, their slow growth, chemical complexity and intimate symbiosis with other organisms makes it hard to uncover their genetic pathways involved in metabolite biosynthesis. In this lecture, Theo will discuss how he am using metagenomic sequencing, in vitro culturing and metabolomics to survey genes associated with production of anthraquinones, a secondary metabolite group that is UV-protectant and present in various fungal lineages, but especially abundant in a diverse order of lichens, the Teloschistales.
Reproductive structures of Nyphaea caerulea:
MADS-box genes involved in their development and investigation of fruit opening and seed dispersal mechanisms
Dr. Sebastiano Nigris (Postdoctoral researcher, University of Padova, Italy)
February 23, 2022
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
MADS-box genes encode transcription factors which are involved in the control of many developmental processes in all green plants. In flowering plants, these genes play a role in root, flower, and fruit development. In some model species of flowering plants (such as Arabidopsis thaliana), the MADS-box genes responsible for correct floral organ initiation have been extensively studied, and a model of flower development has been described. However, this process is not the same across all angiosperms, and is understudied in many other groups. Nymphaea caerulea (blue water lily) is an early-diverging angiosperm which can be used as a model plant to study the involvement of MADS-box genes in this group of plants, and to further understand the genetic control of development in angiosperms, and the evolution of flowering plants. In this talk, we will explore the role of MADS-box genes in flower and fruit development of N. caerulea, as well as the unique seed dispersal mechanisms which the plant possesses.
Fall 2021
Predicting the future with pawpaw
Kathryn Mercier (Doctoral Student, CUNY Graduate Center)
December 7, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
In the face of climate change, making reliable predictions is crucial to conservation. One widely used framework to predict range shifts over the next century relies on identifying the environmental conditions important for species occurrence now, locating where those conditions will be present in the future, and modelling dispersal to track those conditions. But climate tracking is not the only possible biological response to climate change; species respond to intolerable environmental changes in three ways: they may move to areas with suitable conditions, they may go locally extinct, or they may adapt to the new conditions. Our goal in this work is to incorporate niche evolution into existing predictive models of species responses to environmental change.
In this talk we will review recent progress in predicting the future of species distributions, then explore one avenue to advance these approaches and see how it can be applied to the shrub Asimina reticulata, the netted pawpaw.
Living at the edge: physiological mechanisms constraining conifer distribution
Dr. Stephanie Schmiege (Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan State University/University of Western Ontario)
November 16, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Although conifers tolerate some of the harshest conditions on the planet, there are still limits to their distributions. For example, one does not usually associate needle-leaved conifers with low-latitude tropical forests dominated by broad-leaved angiosperms. Nor do we find conifers further north than the arctic tundra treeline. In Stephanie’s talk, we will journey to these two fascinating locations: to the tropical forests of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, and to Alaskan treeline, where we will explore the physiological processes that may contribute to these limits.
Connecting lichens and people in the urban experience
Dr. James Lendemer (New York Botanical Garden)
Dr. Jessica Allen (Eastern Washington University)
October 12, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Lichens are dynamic, symbiotic organisms formed by close cooperation between fungi and algae. There are over 20,000 identified species that perform essential ecosystem services worldwide. Extremely sensitive to disturbance and air pollution, lichens disappeared from most Northeastern cities by the 1970’s. As the air has become cleaner, they have begun to return and are now commonly seen on rocks and trees in urban areas. Join Dr. Jessica Allen of Eastern Washington University, and Dr. James Lendemer of The New York Botanical Garden for a virtual walk through the beautiful world of our local lichens as presented in their newly published book: Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America.
Spring 2021
Lichen Chemistry: Past, Present, and Future
Susan Egbert (Doctoral Student, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg)
May 4, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Lichens are complex symbiotic creatures in which there are still many mysteries left to be understood. Despite our still developing understanding of their qualities and complexity, humans have made use of lichens in various ways for centuries in across the world. Lichens have seen wide application as dye for textiles, as food food, and even medicinal purposes. This talk will be focusing on the timeline of the understanding of lichens throughout history, from early uses to discovery of secondary metabolites, and what to expect in the next coming of years in terms of research.
Evolution and development of the seed coat in Gymnosperms
Cecilia Zumajo (Doctoral student, NYBG/CUNY Graduate Center)
April 26, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
During this talk we will explore the diversity of seeds and the underlying genetics behind this. The evolution of gymnosperms and angiosperms constitute a turning point in the evolution of plants due to a key innovation: the seed. Although the morphological variation of the seed, across seed plants, may on its own explain the complexity of this structure, its origin, evolution and development are still under discussion. This study aims to shed light on these processes, with a focus on the seed coat. The development of the seed coat has been widely studied in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, but little is known in other species. This presentation will focus on different seed coat structures in four species of gymnosperms with intriguing phylogenetic positions: the integument of Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgoales); the integument and additional envelopes of Gnetum gnemon; and the fleshy and dry bracts of Ephedra antisyphilitica and Ephedra californica, respectively (Gnetales). This study allowed us to identify major differences and similarities in the development of the seed in Gnetales, Ginkgoales and angiosperms.
Land use history impacts on ant-mediated seed dispersal
Carmela Buono (Doctoral student, SUNY Binghamton)
March 22, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE HERE
Seed dispersal by ants is a key ecosystem function in North American eastern deciduous forests, where 30-40% of understory forbs are “myrmecochores” or adapted to ant-mediated seed dispersal. In the northeast, most deciduous
forests are “secondary” or previously cleared for agriculture and allowed to passively regenerate. Understory plant communities are not resilient to this disturbance with low recovery, especially of myrmecochore species. While several factors lead to low recovery, a reduction in ant-mediated seed dispersal could be an explanation. Carmela has conducted a large-scale natural experiment in 20 primary and secondary forest sites in the northeast to investigate if ant-mediated seed dispersal is intact in secondary forests. She is also examining if land use history affects dispersal rates, the diversity and abundance of myrmecochores, and the abundance of mutualist ant partners.
Fall 2020
Spectral Plant Biology:
Uncovering the secrets of plant life through a beam of light
Natalia Quinteros, PhD student (City College of New York/New York Botanical Garden)
December 8, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE
Spectral plant biology is a cutting-edge field of study which uses measures of the spectral reflectance of leaves (the amount of energy a surface reflects of different wavelengths of light) to investigate several aspects plant biology. Natalia is interested in using this trait to study how plants relate to each other, and to their environments. In her talk, Natalia will present an overview of her work done at the New York Botanical Garden, focusing on the relationships between spectral signatures, plant classification, and adaptations to different environments. Also, she will discuss the contributions of this new field to the study of botany and plant ecology, as well as its potential use in the continued discovery and conservation of biodiversity.
What can lichens teach us about the tree of life?
Carlos Pardo-De la Hoz, PhD student (Duke University)
November 17, 2021
WATCH RECORDED LECTURE
Species neither live nor evolve in isolation. Instead, they enter complex webs of interactions that shape, and are shaped by, their evolution. How are those webs assembled in space? What features of the landscape affect their structure? What is the role of different species within them? The answers to these questions are key to our understanding of biodiversity, and the resilience and stability of biological communities. Lichens—symbiotic associations between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism—are a great model to address some of these questions. This talk will give an overview of a research project that aims to understand how the main partners of the lichen symbiosis and their interactions are distributed in space, and how that can advance our understanding of the web of life.
The living orchid collection of the Missouri Botanical Garden in Africa and Madagascar
Simon Verlynde, PhD student (New York Botanical Garden)
October 6, 2021
WATCH RECORED LECTURE HERE
In order to obtain high quality orchid specimens, a shadehouse cultivation system was established in 1997 in São Tomé and Príncipe, which has expanded by MBG into a network across continental Africa and Madagascar, in collaboration with African and international partners.
Nine shadehouses are currently active in five African countries, Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar & São Tomé and Príncipe. More than 32,000 living, field-collected orchids have been grown within the network, representing 71 genera and more than 500 species (~20% of the orchid flora of tropical continental Africa and Madagascar). More than 23,764 herbarium specimens have been prepared from this collection of living plants, most associated with silica gel-preserved material and photographs.
This material has been used for taxonomic revisions, describing 41 new taxa, assessing the IUCN Red List conservation status of 225 species in West and Central Africa, and Madagascar, while also contributing to the publication of 44 papers in taxonomy, biogeography, molecular phylogeny, floristics and science communication. The shadehouses also contribute to ex situ conservation of orchids via newly established seed banks in Cameroon and Madagascar, with over 4,700 mature fruits from 169 African orchid species produced to date. MBG’s network of shadehouses also provides valuable educational opportunities to students from Africa and throughout the world and has proven to be a useful tool for training local botanists and improving local capacity, while helping to raise awareness about conservation.
Spring 2020
Annual Banquet and Lecture
The evolution of reproductive ecology strategies in viburnums and honeysuckles
Dr. Wendy Clement (The College of New Jersey)
March 8, 2020
Plant form, particularly of flowers and fruits, has long been tied to plant-animal interactions. However, structures less directly connected to pollination and seed dispersal may have also played an important role in the evolution of plant-animal interactions. For instance, fused leaves in honeysuckles always subtend an inflorescence. How might fused leaves assist in pollinator attraction or seed dispersal? The shape of the single seed within a viburnum fruit has historically been used to classify and recognize subgroups of viburnums. What evolutionary patterns can we discern from variation in seed shape across species of viburnum, and how do evolutionary changes in seed shape correlate with changes in more apparent traits, such as fruit size and color? In this talk, I will explore how we can use morphometrics to study variation in plant structures and examine these data in an evolutionary context to ultimately describe possible ways in which changes in plant form may affect plant reproductive ecology.
Fall 2019
Algae: They Do It In The Light
Does meiosis affect concerted evolution in green algae?
Zach Muscavitch, PhD Student (University of Connecticut)
December 3, 2019
Sex, or more scientifically, the process of meiosis, is present across the tree of life and likely largely responsible for the great diversity of species on the planet. However, there are many organisms that do not undergo meiosis and reproduce asexually. Why did meiosis evolve, and if it’s so advantageous, why do we see multiple lineages mostly or completely abandoning it? Previous work suggests that meiosis can keep genomes more stable and surprisingly less diverse by the process of concerted evolution. To understand the effect of meiosis on concerted evolution, both sexual and asexual algae were investigated. I performed mating experiments and employed next generation sequencing tools to observe the levels of intragenomic variation present in the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii both before and after meiosis. This talk will introduce you to the topic of genome evolution and the potential role of meiosis in concerted evolution.
Ecology On the Rocks:
A story of cliff ecology in North America
Laura Boggess, PhD Student (New York Botanical Garden/Mars Hill University)
November 5, 2019
Cliffs are diverse and understudied ecosystems. Their reputation as geological features lacking biodiversity combined with the physical difficulties of sampling has meant that cliff systems are less studied than their horizontal counterparts. However, a growing body of research in the field of cliff ecology has revealed that cliffs often do harbor high biodiversity and are home to many rare and endemic species. Lichens in particular dominate sheer rock faces but have received almost no attention from the scientific community. This talk will introduce the fascinating flora found on Appalachian cliffs, provide a broad overview of the work in the fledgling field of cliff ecology and discuss future directions for cliff research and conservation.
The Delmarva Lichen Manual:
A New Botanical Resource for the Atlantic Coast
Dr. James Lendemer (New York Botanical Garden)
October 1, 2019
Lichens are well known as beautiful and important components of the natural landscape that are widely appreciated by botanists and nature lovers alike. Despite this, there are few modern resources available that allow one to explore and identify the lichens in United States, especially in the Northeast. Dr. James Lendemer from the New York Botanical Garden will present the Manual of Delmarva Lichens, a new resource published by the Torrey Botanical Society. The book treats more than 300 species, and includes photographs as well as identification keys and distribution maps. It is the first comprehensive lichen flora published for any area of the Mid-Atlantic Coast, and is broadly applicable to Long Island. James Lendemer is a renowned lichen taxonomist and co-author of Delmarva Lichens: An Illustrated Manual, Volume 28 of the Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Society. Please visit this link for more information and to order the Manual.
Spring 2019
Restorative Gathering: Fostering a Visceral Desire for Plant Conservation
Samuel Thayer; author, professional naturalist and forager
May 7, 2019
The gathering of wild plants for food and medicine is an ancient tradition that has shown itself to be compatible with long-term biodiversity in all inhabited regions of the world–yet recently this practice has been criticized as unsustainable and destructive. Thayer argues that this criticism focuses on a caricature of gatherers as irresponsible and ignorant, when in fact they are a large population of deeply committed conservationists whom we can ill afford to alienate. Gathering promotes a deep emotional attachment to the plant communities from which we harvest, and creates a powerful personal incentive to preserve and restore these communities. We need to support our existing suite of management strategies, while enabling new ones and embracing the intersection between foraging and conservation. Thayer presents case histories and examples of how gatherers have been instrumental in protecting and preserving the species they harvest, and argues that not only can wild harvesting be done without harming native plant communities, but that it has an integral role in the future of plant conservation.
The spatial, temporal, and phylogenetic context of herbicide resistance in Amaranthus
Dr. Sandra Hoffberg, Postdoctoral Fellow (Columbia University)
April 2, 2019
Modern agriculture practices that rely heavily on herbicides can promote rapid evolution of herbicide resistance in weedy plant species. In recent decades many species in the genus Amaranthus (pigweed, amaranth, or waterhemp) have evolved resistance to multiple common herbicides and currently cause significant agricultural losses in the U.S. each year. The history of how these adaptations arose in multiple species provides a powerful way to study adaptation on large geographic and temporal scales. To understand the spread of resistance throughout the U.S., I compared contemporary samples from across the U.S. to accessions in the National Plant Germplasm System, which were collected before the widespread use of herbicides led to strong selection for herbicide resistance. I used genomic data to study how hybridization contributed to the spread of resistance. Understanding the importance of hybridization in the spread of herbicide resistance in this group of plants can help predict the future spread of herbicide resistance and encourage farmers to use more sustainable weed management that does not promote the evolution of herbicide resistance.
Annual Banquet & Lecture
Dendrochronology: Using tree rings to reconstruct past environmental conditions
Dr. Carolyn Copenheaver, Associate Professor (Virginia Tech)
March 2019
Trees form annual rings in their stems and the width and characteristics of these rings reflect the environmental conditions during their formation. Thus, tree rings provide our longest historical records of past environments. This presentation will include three examples of applications of dendrochronology to uncovering the past: 1) a dendroarchaelogy study of logs from two log cabins in Virginia used to reconstruct human clearing of forests in the 1700s and 1800s; 2) a dendroclimatology study of sugar maple trees will reveal the complexity of tree growth response to climate and highlight the challenges of predicting forest response to future climate change; and 3) a dendrohydrology study using bald cypress to show the potential of using intra-annual density fluctuations to reconstruct historical frequency of flood events. These three examples will provide a glimpse into the potential hidden in tree rings for understanding the historical stability of our environment.
Fall 2018
How polyploidy shapes floral evolution
Dr. Elizabeth McCarthy, Assistant Professor (SUNY Cortland)
December 4, 2018
All seed plants and all flowering plants have had at least one round of polyploidy, or whole genome duplication, in their evolutionary history, and ~250 ancient polyploidy events have occurred in the evolution of flowering plants. My questions focus on how allopolypoidy, whole genome duplication accompanied by hybridization, has affected the evolution of floral shape, size, and color. How does genome merger yield the novel and diverse phenotypes that we observe in allopolyploids? How do these phenotypes affect the evolution of allopolyploid species? I study these questions in the genus Nicotiana (tobacco), an excellent system in which to study polyploidy because half of the genus are allotetraploids, which arose at different time points within its evolution. This range of ages allows for study of the progression of polyploid evolution over time. Young polyploids tend to have shorter and wider floral tubes than expected based on the morphology of their progenitor species, whereas diploids and older polyploids do not show any particular trends in the evolution of floral tube length and width. This increase in tube width paired with a decrease in tube length suggests that young polyploids may have more a more generalist pollination scheme because a greater variation of types of pollinators will be able to reach the nectar. Further evidence shows that the increased tube width in young polyploids is due to an increase in cell width, perhaps as a direct consequence of duplicating the genome size with polyploidy. Taken together, these results suggest that the patterns of divergence in floral morphology are impacted by the early consequences of polyploidy, but that older polyploids display similar divergence patterns to diploids.
Multi-dimensional explorations into a diverse lichen genus
Carly Anderson-Stewart, PhD Student (University of Colorado, Boulder)
Jordan Hoffman, PhD Student (New York Botanical Garden/CUNY Graduate Center)
November 6, 2018
Among the immense diversity of lichens, the genus Cladonia is one of the most charismatic and recognizable. Their conspicuous nature, ubiquitous occurrence and overall diversity have made Cladonia one of the most well-studied lichen genera for the last 300 years. However, there are still many questions left to ask and answer. In this discussion, we will report on several of our exciting Cladonia-focused research projects; some recently completed, others currently underway. These projects span several disciplines, from phylogenetics and biogeography to population genomics and conservation. This dual-lecture will cover multiple scales of study, with reference to large-scale global classification down to individual interactions within species. Recognizing the immense biodiversity of understudied organisms–such as lichens–is a big step forward in the description and conservation of these species.
Hardscape floristics:
Functional and phylogenetic diversity of parking lot plants
Lauren J. Frazee, PhD Student (Rutgers University)
October 2, 2018
The study of organisms living in extreme environments has shaped our knowledge of eco-evolutionary dynamics and the deterministic and stochastic factors that contribute to community assembly. With hardscape habitats, humans have created a novel land cover type that is physically analogous to extreme terrestrial environments such as deserts, barrens, and rocky outcrops and may harbor rare or specialist species and communities. In this study, I asked, (1) Which species inhabit hardscapes?; (2) Do hardscapes serve as a refuge for rare or specialist species?; (3) How taxonomically similar are hardscape plant communities to one another and the regional species pool?; (4) Is phylogenetic diversity of hardscape communities different than the regional species pool?; and (5) Which functional traits, niche indicators, and life history strategies associated with growth and reproduction are filtered for or against in hardscape plant communities?
Spring 2018
Homology of process:
Petals and petaloidy in the tropical gingers (Zingiberales).
Dr. Chelsea Specht, Professor of Plant Science (Cornell University)
May 1, 2018
One of the most striking elements of angiosperm evolution is the diversity of floral forms represented. Flowers can modify existing structures or evolve novel elements that are often linked with functions, such as mechanisms for pollination or effective seed dispersal. Yet despite the diversity of floral forms, certain flower structures are highly conserved, as are many of the genes that underlie their basic form. In addition, transitions between certain floral forms are more common than others, indicating a certain level of canalization that may occur during the elaboration of floral development. I first discuss some of the patterns and processes underlying conserved floral forms, providing an idea of the bauplan that drives basic floral morphologies. I then extend to discuss two particular processes, polarity and fusion, that drive novelties in floral organ development and are responsible for some of the most impressive diversity in flowers. The Zingiberales (tropical gingers) provide a model system for investigating the role of these two developmental processes in the evolution of floral form.
Plants and Fire: Friends or Foes?
Kaz Uyehara, PhD Student (Princeton University)
April 3, 2018
Fire is one of the most common disturbances in plant communities and it plays a role in the maintenance of biomes worldwide. This has lead to the evolution of adaptations and ecological strategies that help plants cope with fire. While fires have the potential to kill and damage plants, they also serve an important ecological function in plant communities. In this talk, I will introduce the basics of fire ecology and discuss the ways in which plants and fires interact in different fire-prone ecosystems. My focus will be on the potential for plants to actively use fire for their own benefit in a game theory context and how this may lead to alternative stable states on the ecosystem scale.
Annual Banquet & Lecture
Toward a global monograph of Gyroporus
Naveed Davoodian, PhD Student (New York Botanical Garden/CUNY Graduate Center)
March 4, 2018
Gyroporus (Sclerodermatineae, Boletales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi) is a genus of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms distributed throughout the world in suitable habitats. Previous attempts to untangle the diversity of this genus proved difficult due to the presence of semi-cryptic species and equivocal results from phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA markers. To overcome these obstacles, a combined taxonomic and phylogenetic approach (emphasizing protein-coding genes) is used to delimit species and elucidate geographic and evolutionary patterns in Gyroporus. Several distinct clades and biogeographic patterns are inferred, and the relationships of the classical taxa are clarified. This study provides a key foundation for future efforts on this well-known but previously poorly-understood group of fungi.
Fall 2017
Evolution of vascular cambial variants in a large genus of lianas- Paullinia (Sapindaceae)
Joyce Chery, PhD Student (University of California, Berkeley)
December 5, 2017
The wood anatomy of lianas (wood vines) in distantly related lineages have converged on the “liana syndrome”, an anatomy that sets it apart from trees and shrubs. In some extreme cases, the liana syndrome leads to unusual activity of the vascular cambial manifesting as vascular cambial variants that take on a diversity of forms in different groups. This talk will focus on the development and evolution in a phylogenetic context of vascular cambial variants in Paullinia (Sapindaceae) a large group of neotropical lianas. The talk will conclude with preliminary results and future directions of the speaker’s dissertation.
Examining Patterns and Processes of the Invasion of Frangula alnus With An Integrated Model Framework
Dr. Matthew Aiello-Lammens, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Science (Pace University)
November 7, 2017
The establishment and spread of non-native invasive species harms native ecosystems, human health, and economic activity. Understanding factors leading to successful species invasions helps resource managers in their task of preventing future invasions. Integrating several ecological models, I investigated the processes contributing to the spatial spread of the invasive plant Frangula alnus. I collected historic occurrence records to establish the pattern of spatial spread throughout North America during the 20th century. I carried out a multi-year monitoring study to better understand the species growth, survival, and reproduction characteristics, and used this information to parameterize a set of integrated models. I found that moderate fecundity, high survival, and extensive long-distance dispersal values replicated the observed pattern. Strong interaction effects between fecundity and long-distance dispersal indicate that a successful invasion required both of these processes. Lastly, long-distance dispersal was most likely facilitated by human transport, demonstrating the important role we often play in species invasions. These results provide an indication of processes that likely contribute to plant invasions more broadly, which can be used to inform invasive species management and prevention.
Rural and Urban Lichen Ecology in New Jersey
Dr. Natalie Howe, Honorary Curator of Cryptogams (Rutgers University Chrysler Herbarium)
October 3, 2017
This talk will discuss some of the patterns in lichen ecology observed in NJ. It focuses on the NJ Pinelands, an area of exceptional lichen diversity, and discusses the disturbance patterns associated with different lichen communities there. The talk also covers some of the soil organisms and soil nutrient cycling processes associated with mats of Cladonia sp. on the forest floor in the Pinelands. The talk concludes with a discussion of preliminary findings from the Camden-Philadelphia Urban Lichen Project (C-PULP), which characterizes some of the patterns in urban lichen diversity in this fascinating urban landscape.
The Torrey Botanical Society 150th Anniversary Symposium
September 15, 2017
Founded in 1867, The Torrey Botanical Society is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2017! This day-long symposium features a range of speakers addressing the past, present, and future of the flora and natural history of New York City and the region:
- Jessica L. Allen: Lichens of New York City: Past, Present, and Future
- Robert Naczi: What would Torrey do? Floras and floristics in the northeastern U.S.A. and adjacent Canada
- Eric Sanderson: The Welikia Project: On the Historical Ecology of New York City
- Lena Struwe: From Vasculums to iPhones: 150 years of botanical field research technology in a nutshell
- Peter del Tredici: The Introduction of Japanese Plants into North America (with a Torrey Botanical Club Footnote)
Spring 2017
Rags to Riches: Tales of Discovery and Conservation of America’s Neglected Lichen Biodiversity
Dr. James Lendemer (New York Botanical Garden)
May 2, 2017
From New York to California and Nunavut to Florida there are thousands of lichens that call North America home. Just as conspicuous and beautiful as wildflowers, they have long been neglected based on the perception that they are little studied and impossible to understand. This lecture will dispel that myth and show that lichens stand at the forefront of botanical discovery in North America. Further it will illustrate not only that these remarkable fungi are highly threatened, but that meaningful advancements can be made to protect them.
A Botanist’s Vocabulary
Dr. Susan Pell
Bobbi Angell
April 4, 2017
Abstract: Ever encounter a botanical or horticultural term that stumps you? Join botanist Susan Pell and illustrator Bobbi Angell for this presentation-based journey through the creation and content of their book, A Botanist’s Vocabulary: 1300 Terms Explained and Illustrated. Bobbi will talk about her creative process and approach to illustrating this book. Susan will present some of the botanical terms using Bobbi’s illustrations, photographs, and live plant material. Both authors will sign books in the lobby before and after the lecture. Spring is about to spring and now is a great time to learn more about the structure of plants as they unfurl and sprout forward with the warmer weather and longer days.
Annual Banquet & Lecture
Orchids, Insects, Forests and Weeds:
An Overview of Plant Ecology Research and Undergraduate Involvement at Farmingdale State College
Dr. Eric Morgan (Farmingdale State College)
March 5, 2017
From the urban forests of New York City to the demographics of native orchids found within the Torrey range, a number of projects involving undergraduate students are ongoing at Farmingdale State College. Highlights of these works will be presented including both the field and lab aspects of several major projects involving students in my lab group, as well as new data from research on the relationship between some of our native orchid species and an insect predator of those species. While appearing wide in scope, many of these projects share a common theme in understanding the importance of plants and their relationship with the surrounding communities, especially those aspects that are often overlooked.